Troublesome meets Bothersome
by eli.ferguson
Summary: What happens when Nara, Shikamaru, the renound laziest and smartest ninja in Konoha, meets a nomadic girl that seems almost like him in every way? Rated M for mature because of content further on in the story line. Shikamaru x OC Farther in it might get a little OOC for Shika, sorry if that happens
1. Chapter 1

**NOTE: I do not own any characters from Naruto that are in this story. I do not own the manga, the anime, the drawings, the NOOTHIINNGG... i own my own OC though o-o but... but nothing that belongs to Masashi Kishimoto!**

**Oh... an I'm making them 17'ish... so XP**

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Name: Rurousha, Kyoui-kumo

Meaning: Nomad, wandering cloud

Age: 17; Birthday: December 13th

Height: 5 ft. 3; Weight: 126 lbs.

Hair: Black; Eyes: green

Cup: 36-C;

Known techniques:

Kage tsume No Jutsu (Shadow claw Jutsu)

Kage kuro-n No Jutsue (Shadow clone Jutsu)

Oni tsume no Jutsu (Demon claw Jutsu)

Kaze Raishuu No Jutsu (Wind Attack Jutsu)

Kaze tsurugi No Jutsu (Wind sword Jutsu)

Konki sanmai gikou (Energy Absorption Technique); Heihei ichi tsurugi dansu (level one: Sword dance)

Story start:

She wore a dull gray kimono that looked rougher for wear decorated with dull, undetailed birds the size of a coin and tied loosely with a faded maroon obi that matched the birds; her chest, which was exposed to the open by the kimono, was wrapped tightly with bandages to keep them from getting in the way. Two swords with black sheaths were resting at her left hip by her obi while a white sheathed sword rested on her right. Her kimono, originally made for males, stopped above her knees and exposed her muscular legs. Her sleeves, which were empty and swaying in the wind gently, stopped just above the obi; her arms were inside the kimono, crossed across her stomach and resting comfortably. Wearing getas, a type of wooden samurai shoe, she walked slowly as she listened to the breeze play against the trees. Her long black hair that reached her waist line was pulled into a high ponytail tied with bandages save for two long locks of bangs that reached her collar bone. She had olive toned skin with naturally thick lashes framing her green eyes and lips the color of pink roses; the only imperfection on her face was a light scar on the corner of her left eyebrow. A stick bobbed up and down from the manipulations of her tongue, its lone leaf acting as a flag. Looking up she notices the darkening of the sky and sighs out of habit. Idly she wonders if she'll have to sleep on the ground again but luck was on her side for as she passed the last of the trees a grand gate stood before her. She continued to walk up to it until two ninjas appeared before her, their faces obviously telling her that she was deemed an uncertain threat, thus almost unwelcomed.

"Halt." The first one stated. "State your name and business here."  
She looks up at the sky again before muttering "Bothersome" loud enough for them to hear. The second ninja frowns and takes a step forward before being halted by his companion.

"State your business or don't even bother coming in." The first one tried again.

Sighing again she turns her head to look back at the way she came. "Can a girl not seek the aid of a village?" She looks back at the ninjas and smiles faintly. "I wish not to spend the night in the open woods when I have a choice to spend the night in the safety of a village."

Their tense postures seemed to relax slightly at this answer. "Your name?" The first one asks again.

"Rurousha, Kyoui-kumo." Was her simple answer as she shifts her weight onto her right leg.

The first nodded before continuing his questioning. "How long will your stay be?"

She couldn't help but sigh, all she wanted was to get inside, possibly find a nice warm bed to sleep and to fill her deprived stomach of food. "I do not know." She states simply. At the looks on their faces she sighs again and slips her left hand out of her kimono to wave vaguely. "It all depends on if your village entertains me. At the least I will stay for three days, if something does catch my fancy I will mostly likely stay for a few weeks, at which case I will inform your leader so they do not cause me problems and vice versa." Honestly she hated speaking aloud but they wouldn't let her inside until she explained herself and the day was getting darker.

Both ninjas looked at each other before the first shrugs and they move aside, "Welcome to Konoha, village hidden in the leaves."

She dips her head in a respectful manner, replacing her hand inside her kimono and walked on to find bedding for the night. She walked a good ten minutes before realizing that most of everyone were in their own homes, she sighs before noticing a ramen shop that went by Ichiraku was still open.

"Food," She demands herself as she starts to walk in that direction. "Food then sleep." Slipping inside she notices that there were still people inside. One was a tan blond clad in orange with a good ten empty bowls in front of him. Sitting to the left of him was another blond, although her hair was paler where his was brighter, wearing a purple two piece outfit that showed off her thin stomach. She complained about how 'Naruto' and 'Choji' were being pigs as they stuffed their face in the presence of a lady. Raising an eyebrow she noticed that next to the complaining female sat a heavy set male with just as many bowls in front of him as the male blond. Interesting, both of them were either 'Naruto' or 'Choji', she'd just have to wait and see who responded to what. When the owner greets her she offers a sweet smile and sits down away from the group.

"What can I get you?" The owner asked as he cleaned a bowl with a worn rag.

"I would like a beef ramen, hold the eggs." She offers another smile with the slightest tilt of her head.

"You got it!" He says before getting to work on the order.

"Eggs are the best part." Munched the heavy set male, he was able to swallow his food before the complaining female smacks him upside the head.

"You think everything is the best part!" She snaps at him, causing the blond male to laugh with gusto.

"Well it is!" The heavy set male rebuts.

Turning she offers the male a calm smile before saying something neither of them would have guessed. "Sadly I would love to agree with you, sir, but if you must know I am highly allergic to eggs." Her smile turns apologetic and she dips her head.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" The complaining female exclaims before pushing the male blond down to offer her hand. "My name's Ino. Yamanaka, Ino. And yours?"

Taking her hand firmly she gave it a good shake before responding, "Rurousha, Kyoui-kumo, but…" She pauses a moment before smiling, "You may call me Kumo if you wish."

"Kumo…" Someone mutters causing her eyes to narrow. Apparently she missed a male when she had come in. Looking at him now she could understand why, he didn't look anything special, really. With black hair pulled into a high ponytail it made his head look like a pineapple and his eyes made it seem like he was use to sleeping with no determination. He was the only one in the group that wore a green colored vest and black ninja pants. All in all he was easily looked over, and rightly so for he sat between the wall and the heavy set male who had returned to his new bowl.

"Yes?" After her assessment she deemed him unthreatening and smiled politely, she must have been too tired to really look at her surroundings.

"That means cloud, right?" Yamanaka asked innocently.

She smiles and nods again before a bowl of ramen was placed in front of her. She transfers her smile to the owner with a "Thank you very much, Sir." Taking a set of chopsticks and snapping them apart she claps her hands together before eating slowly. All was silent for a moment before the blond male looks at her and grins.  
"Hi!" He exclaims, as if finally noticing her. "MY NAME'S UZAMAKI NARUTO AND I'M GOING TO BE THE NEXT HOKAGE OF THIS VILLAGE!" Ino groans, her eyes rolling with annoyance before she smacked him upside the head.

"No one cares, BAKA!" She snaps before offering Kumo an apologetic smile.

Kumo, not liking dreams crushed, mutters a low "bothersome" before setting her chopsticks down on her bowl and turns fully to a crestfallen Naruto. Tilting her head she leans forward before touching his shoulder lightly with her fingers. "Uzumaki-kun?" She asks timidly. When he looks up at her, his beautiful blue eyes dark with sadness she offers him a smile. "I think your dream is a very big one that only a very big heart can succeed. Although I don't know you every well I think your dream will come true if you work hard, so don't believe any negative words, 'kay?"

The look on his face made her heart swell with pride, all of the hurt disappeared quickly into a look of admiration for her and her kind words. She didn't let him, or anyone else, time to react though. Standing up she pulls a small bag from her kimono and opens it. Pulling out a gold piece she drops it on the counter above her half eaten bowl of ramen. "I believe," She starts slowly "That this is more than enough for a single bowl. I ask that you keep the remainder as pay in advance for the next bowl I will have tomorrow." She offers the owner a small smile. "It was very delicious, I thank you very much but I must look for an inn now." She slips out of the stall as quietly as she had come in and begins to walk down the dirt road in search of a bed.

A good twenty minutes pass when she finally realizes that not a single inn was open, or at least she hadn't been able to locate an inn. She decides to walk until she finds an open field and a lone, large tree near the edge; its branches hanging low like a canopy which provided coverage from the wind. Reaching out she strokes the rough bark and sighs again before slipping her arms into her sleeves; pulling out her swords from her obi she sits down cross-legged at the base of the tree and sits the ends of her swords between her legs. Having the swords rest on her right shoulder she crosses her arms over the sheaths and closes her eyes to sleep, falling asleep easily despite the hard ground and cold air.

The sound of footsteps awoke her the next morning; with her eyes closed she listened carefully to the "pat-pat" of ninja sandals on dirt before deciding that there were two sets of footsteps. One was obviously male, his heavy steps walked slightly faster than his partner whose steps were slow and relaxed. She couldn't determine the sex of second set of steps but she decided to find out by opening her eyes.

"Hey!" The male said; his voice registered as the heavy set boy from the ramen place; absently she remembers his name was Choji because Uzumaki had introduced himself. "It's Kumo from last night Shikamaru."

As he runs up to her she slowly stands up, slipping her swords into her obi. She notes that Shikamaru was a boy's name so when she looked up she wasn't at all surprised to find the unnoticed boy from last night walking up to them. His hands were stuck in his pockets and when he stopped next to Choji he leaned his shoulders back in a relaxed, unhurried manner. She looks him up and down slowly with her eyes before offering both of the males a smile. "Hello."

"Hi Kumo." Choji responds before stuffing a chip into his mouth. "What are you," He halts to put another chip in, "doing here so early in the," Once again, another stop, "morning?"

She slips her hands inside her sleeves and crosses her arms over her stomach, looking up at the sky she deems it around eight in the morning before looking back at the boys. "Well… I couldn't find an inn last night so I camped out here. What are you boys doing out so early in the morning?"

Choji gives a closed lip grin before thrusting his thumb towards Shikamaru, "This is his favorite cloud watching spot."

Her eyebrows rose. "Oh? And you have escorted him here?" She was, honestly, confused as to why they were both here if it was only one's favorite spot.

He laughs and the other sighs, muttering a "what a drag" before walking past them to the center of the field. He squats down then falls onto his back, slipping his hands behind his head before gazing up at the blue sky.

"Well, he is my best friend." Choji states, causing her to make a "ah" sound. "So, we never got a chance to introduce ourselves last night, you left so quickly. My name's-" He started before she held up her hand.

"Choji, correct?" With a tilt of her head she smiles softly at his open mouth.

"Y-yeah, how did you know?" Absently he pulls out another handful of chips and stuffs them into his mouth to hide his unease.

"Last night, your female companion," She pauses a moment to remember the name, "Yamanaka-Chan, she was complaining about a 'Naruto' and a 'Choji' eating too much. When I noticed there were only two males with many plates in front of them I just waited until someone reacted to a name." She smiles and shifts her weight onto her left foot. "I figured your name was Choji when Uzumaki-kun introduced himself."

Chojis body relaxed when he realized that she wasn't a spy of sorts and grins at her. "Well you didn't meet Shikamaru." He looks past her towards the sleepy male and sighs. "His name is Nara, Shikamaru; sorry he's ignoring you." He leans in and whispers, "He thinks all girls are troublesome."

She couldn't help but laugh when Shikamaru exclaims "They are." in a bored, exasperated voice. She places her hand on Choji's shoulder with a smile causing him to blush. "I'm sorry, but I'd have to agree with your sleeping friend. I find very many women to be troublesome… although I'd think they were more bothersome then not."

"Mm" Choji seemed like he was unsure where to take the conversation before something dawned on him and he exclaims. "Hey, Kumo, your last name means 'nomad', right?"

Smiling she nods, "That's right. My family is a nomadic one so we chose that as our last names."

"So…" He frowns slightly. "You don't have a home?"

Before she could answer him Shikamaru speaks up, "Idiot, nomad means they move around. They probably have a village of origin where they meet up to discuss something important but all in all the majority of her family moves from place to place."  
Laughing a bit she pats Choji on his shoulder. "Your friend is right, minus the idiot part," She flashes Shikamaru a smile who didn't notice.

"Well," Choji tilts his head. "What if you decide to settle down in another village?" His question was reasonable enough to answer but she frowns none the less.

"You see…" She pauses, her hand dropping from his shoulder to slide inside her kimono. "If one from the Rurousha clan decides that they wish to settle down in a village they must drop their last name, Rurousha." She offers a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "If you noticed I have two first names. If, for example, I decide that I have fallen in love with someone here and wanted to live here I would drop my last name, Rurousha, and adopt one of my first names to be my last until I marry that person. So then…" She drifts off to see if Choji followed, but by the looks of it he didn't. She opens her mouth to continue but was interrupted by Nara.

"So then your name would be Kyoui, Kumo or vice versa." He tilts his head slightly to look at the couple before looking back up at the sky.

"Yes, that is correct, Nara-kun." She offers him a smile before looking at Choji, "Since I prefer to be called Kumo that would be my first name and my last name would turn into Kyoui."

"Oh" He nods, stuffing another handful of chips into his mouth as he thought it over. "So that makes sense, kind of."

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**Okay, so ... this is the begining of my story. I'm sorry if it's SHORT... I'm writing more as I speak...type... er... So feel free to, like, review or whatever.. I know I'm not THAT good at writing but I enjoy it so... bye.. ^w^**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, I'm going to try and update this story every two or three days. Since I'm writing this on microsoft I want it to be at least three pages long before I post the next chapter... that way you have simi-long chapters to read ^-^**

**Anyways. Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Naruto, anything that was created by Masashi Kishimoto i do not own. I only own my OC(s), understand? Good? Okay now, on with the story~**

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**What happened last time:**

"Well," Choji tilts his head. "What if you decide to settle down in another village?" His question was reasonable enough to answer but she frowns none the less.

"You see…" She pauses, her hand dropping from his shoulder to slide inside her kimono. "If one from the Rurousha clan decides that they wish to settle down in a village they must drop their last name, Rurousha." She offers a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "If you noticed I have two first names. If, for example, I decide that I have fallen in love with someone here and wanted to live here I would drop my last name, Rurousha, and adopt one of my first names to be my last until I marry that person. So then…" She drifts off to see if Choji followed, but by the looks of it he didn't. She opens her mouth to continue but was interrupted by Nara.

"So then your name would be Kyoui, Kumo or vice versa." He tilts his head slightly to look at the couple before looking back up at the sky.

"Yes, that is correct, Nara-kun." She offers him a smile before looking at Choji, "Since I prefer to be called Kumo that would be my first name and my last name would turn into Kyoui."

"Oh" He nods, stuffing another handful of chips into his mouth as he thought it over. "So that makes sense, kind of."

* * *

There was a silence that was slowly becoming awkward but a forced cough caught their attention. Standing next to them was a male Nin that looked no higher than a chunin, with pale black hair that was slowly receding into gray. She raised an eyebrow, showing no signs of being shocked that he was there while Choji was consumed with a coughing fit over his chips. Shikamaru, on the other hand, didn't seem to take notice of the Nin; he remained lying with his eyes closed, as if he was asleep and not listening to a word any of them said.

"Excuse the interruption." The Nin started, looking at all like he didn't care either way if he interrupted or not. "Akimichi, Choji; Nara, Shikamaru? The hokage has requested both of your presence in her office." That got everyone's attention; Choji stopped munching on his chips, Shikamaru (the lazy Nin that he is) sighs and rolls onto his side with his head propped up on his hand, and she makes a mental note that their leader, this 'hokage,' was a female as well as Choji's last name being Akimichi.

"What's this about, exactly?" Shikamaru wonders out loud, his voice never rising above the bored tone. The male Nin didn't answer; instead his eyes turned to her and stared at her in question. She couldn't help but huff, making it painfully obvious that she thought this was stupid she slips her hands into her sleeves, raised them to head height and slammed both of her palms against her ears. If that wasn't enough she turned around so her back faced him and began a 'la-la-la-lo-lo-lo' rant so there wasn't any way she could hear him.

"You can state your business now, fellow suspicious Nin," She interrupts her rant to call out loudly, "Don't worry I can't hear you over the sound of my own-" She was interrupted by a hand on her shoulder. Releasing her ears she turns to see Choji's hand before shifting her gaze to his face.

"You can stop now, Kumo, he told us what we needed to know." He offers an apologetic smile, a sub-line message that told her he would tell her what it was about if he could have.

Turning she looks at the male Nin before grinning, "No worries, I already know what it was about." The Nin's eyes narrowed and his whole body tensed up; Choji, too, frowned and drops his hand from her shoulder. The only one who didn't react wrongly was Shikamaru, who was in the process of standing up slowly. She grins again and places her hands on her hips above her obi, "Y'all were talking about the Ramen Eating Contest, right?" She makes a sad face before patting Choji's shoulder sympathetically, "Sorry, Akimichi-kun, your hokage probably wants you and Uzumaki-kun to set out because the cook can't handle it, right? Touch break, don't worry I'll treat you to bar-b-q."

Choji, being a big eater as he was, turns his gaze sharply towards his lazy friend and asks quickly, "There's a Ramen Eating Contest?" She was surprised when the one to laugh was, in fact, the lazy Nin himself, personally she though that he would have distastefully mocked both of them for being stupid but his laugh wasn't much, just a short chuckle that sounded like a cough more than anything else. The male Nin's body seemed to relax slightly and his eyes stopped their narrowed view; it seemed that if the other two ninjas weren't worried about her then he didn't have to be either.

"Yeah there is one, there was a poster in the stall last night, would've sworn that you saw it but," He shrugs as if it didn't matter to him; knowing him as little as she did she can swear that it didn't. "But," His gaze looks at her for a moment before tilting his head back to look at the sky, "That's not what the Hokage wanted to talk to us about, and no I'm not going to tell you, you troublesome woman."

Her mouth opens up into a small 'o' at the insult he threw at her before resorting, "I wasn't going to ask you, you bothersome male." At the look on Choji's face she finishes it off with a raspberry and crossing her arms under her chest.

That did it, somehow Choji ended up leaning against the tree in a fit of laughter while the male Nin coughed to hid his smile and Shikamaru just stared at her with unclouded shock. She makes a 'hump' sound before slipping her left arm inside her kimono and patting Choji on his shoulder with her right hand, "Akimichi-kun, I'm going to go look for an inn now that it's light out." She nods her head at the male Nin, "It was nice being a suspicious person for you, Mister Nin, but I must really be going." She turns and starts to walk away, her hand raised to the height of her head in a silent farewell before Choji calls out.

"H-hey, Kumo! H-how about I invite some of my friends to dinner, s-so you can meet more people here!" She pauses, turns slightly to look back at him, and a grateful smile graces her lips causing both Choji and the Nin to blush; Shikamaru, on the other hand, was currently with his back to her, annoyed that she dared to insult him.

"I'd love that, Akimichi-kun; I'll look forward to it." Slipping her hand into her kimono she walks off, completely ignoring the lazy Nin's complaint of "What a drag, why'd you invite HER and EVERYONE ELSE?" He stressed the 'her' and 'everyone else' to show that he did NOT like the idea very much. "Don't expect ME to come, it's too bothersome."

Snorting she decides to have fun and calls over her shoulder, "Love you too, Kangaroo!" She listened as he seemed to sputter at his new nickname but she didn't wait to see how he'd rebut. Turning the corner she takes a deep breath of the morning air before beginning her hunt for an inn. As she walked she noticed that several people who were up openly stared at her; she hums at the back of her throat. 'Perhaps,' she thought idly. 'Perhaps they are unaccustomed to seeing a swordswoman… especially one who is traveling alone.' Clearing her throat she walks up to an older couple, slipping one hand out of her sleeve to hold out to them.

"Excuse me," Her voice, normally quiet and bored, was sweet and calming. She didn't want to scare the old couple when all she wanted was some information. "you wouldn't happen to know where an inn is, do you?"

The older couple, who had busied themselves rearranging their fruit in their stall, looks up with kind eyes. The older woman was small, her back hunched over inside her dull blue kimono, she barely reached up to Kumo's chest. She offers a small smile to the little old woman who returned it before grabbing ahold of her husband's hand. Her husband, being taller than his little wife was probably an inch or two shorter than Kumo, herself. While his wife had to use a cane he was able to stand up straight without one, although he seemed to prefer taking his weight off of his left leg.

"Yes." The old lady reaches out and takes Kumo's hand gently in her own. "We actually own an inn, right… right here." She turns slightly and looks up at the building behind them. It wasn't much, barely standing it obviously seen better days; it was a single story and as the couple lead her inside she noticed it probably had one room not including the couple's. The living room took up half of the house itself, an open space with a single table and four pillow seats around it. To the left were a gas stove and a small cabinet underneath it; to the right was a bookshelf with random trinkets. Gracing the back wall were two sliding, paper doors; one leading to the room she would occupy and one room for the couple. She makes an 'hmm' noise in the back of her throat as she steps around the table.

"You do not mind if I look at the room, do you Ojīchan, O bāchan?" She offers a kind smile to the older couple when they nodded their heads and slips into the small room. It was big enough for her to lay down in, with a small futon as well as a small writing table, a window setting above it. She slips back out of the room and notice that the couple seemed scared she might decide that it was too small, too old for her. Giving them a reassuring smile she pulls out a small bag from inside her kimono.

"How much do I pay Ojīchan and O bāchan for three week's stay?" When they made sputtering sounds she only smiles at them and pulls out a few gold pieces.

"W-well," The husband starts, moving his hands around in a vague manner, "You are our first guest in… in a long while, ah… I don't, don't think we can accept that much pay!" She didn't allow them to refuse though, with kind hands she presses the gold pieces against the palm of his hand and closes his fingers around it.

"Ojīchan," She starts, causing them to quiet down. "Your place, it may be small but I like it, please accept it." They sigh, knowing that they had lost the battle of her pay and gladly accepts.

"Young lady, what is your name?" O bāchan asks, both of her hands resting on top of her cane.

"Hmm," Looking up she slips her hand inside her sleeve before setting it against her chin in thought. "My full name is Rurousha, Kyoui-kumo…" She smiles and crosses her arms over her stomach again, "But everyone who knows me calls me Kumo."

Nodding with understanding the old couple sits down at the table and smiles up at her. "The outhouse and washroom are in the backyard." O bāchan starts before setting her cane down on top of the table. She looks Kumo up and down before frowning. "Do you have any cloths besides the one you are wearing, dearie?"

Kumo laughs nervously, her hand slipping into her sleeve before rubbing the back of her neck. "No, O bāchan, I do not. Being a nomad, such as myself, it's easier to carry only what's on your back." Shrugging absently she sits down across from the old lady, "It's honestly no skin off of my back; I don't care for caring a bag of clothing as I walk."

* * *

**So like i said before, Sorry if this is a short chapter, it's only about 3 pages on microsoft. and i'm typing more as we speak...type...read... so yeah ^^"**

**Oh, also i have changed the names of her attacks:**

**Kage no tsume-jutsu (Shadow claw Jutsu)**

**Kage no kurōn-jutsu (Shadow clone Jutsu)**

**Akuma no tsume-jutsu (Demon claw Jutsu)**

**Kaze kōgeki-jutsu (Wind Attack Jutsu)**

**Kaze no kenjutsu (Wind sword Jutsu)**

**Enerugī kyūshū-hō (Energy Absorption Technique):**

**Heihei ichi Kenbu (level one: Sword dance)**

**Heihei nee Tatsumaki no dangan (Level two: Tornado bullet)**

**Heihei San Jinsei no sutoraiki (Level three: Life strike)**

**Heihei shi Kūki no bunkatsu (Level four: Air split)**


	3. Chapter 3

**So, I am sorry it took so long before I uploaded the next chapter, I'm getting ready to go to Stephenville, Tx for my college orientation. Which reminds me I made this chapter slightly longer than normal to say sorry; I wont be able to write anything until sunday night due to the fact that I'll be in Stephenville and I cant bring my laptop. **

**So anyways... Disclaimer: I do not own anything that was made by Masashi Kishimoto; the ony thing I own is/are my own OC(s).**

* * *

**Previously:**

"Ojīchan," She starts, causing them to quiet down. "Your place, it may be small but I like it, please accept it." They sigh, knowing that they had lost the battle of her pay and gladly accepts.

"Young lady, what is your name?" O bāchan asks, both of her hands resting on top of her cane.

"Hmm," Looking up she slips her hand inside her sleeve before setting it against her chin in thought. "My full name is Rurousha, Kyoui-kumo…" She smiles and crosses her arms over her stomach again, "But everyone who knows me calls me Kumo."

Nodding with understanding the old couple sits down at the table and smiles up at her. "The outhouse and washroom are in the backyard." O bāchan starts before setting her cane down on top of the table. She looks Kumo up and down before frowning. "Do you have any cloths besides the one you are wearing, dearie?"

Kumo laughs nervously, her hand slipping into her sleeve before rubbing the back of her neck. "No, O bāchan, I do not. Being a nomad, such as myself, it's easier to carry only what's on your back." Shrugging absently she sits down across from the old lady, "It's honestly no skin off of my back; I don't care for caring a bag of clothing as I walk."

* * *

The older couple seemed to not like this idea, their eyebrows furrowing and their mouths frowning. She supposed they weren't use to having nomadic people coming to their inn. Kumo yawns, reaching up with her right hand to pat her mouth before asking the inn keeper if she could sleep.  
"But dearie," O bāchan started, her frown still present. "Shouldn't you buy some cloths? So you do not wear the same thing all the time?" Smiling, Kumo reaches out and pat's O bāchan's hand before standing up and stretching her sleeved hands above her head.

"I will do that when I wake up from my nap… but I am very tired and I did not get a good night's rest the previous night. I hope you don't mind." She didn't wait for their answer though, instead she slipped pass the paper door and closed it behind her. Slipping her swords out of her obi she sits down on the old futon and yawns again. Lying down on her side she wraps her arms around her swords and falls into a light sleep.

Muted voices woke her; although she kept her eyes closed her ears followed the sounds of their voices and the quiet nock that echoed on her paper door. Her eyes open, she absently notes that the sky had darkened and she had missed lunch; looking up from her spot on the futon she sees Ojīchan smiling apologetically down at her.

"You … you have a guest." He looks over his shoulder before whispering, "It's a young man who says knows you, Kumo-chan."

Frowning she sits up on as Ojīchan walks away from the door, leaving it open so the guest could come in. Her frown disappears to be replaced by a sly smile as she leans back on her hands and looks up at him.

"Well, well, well." She couldn't contain her amusement as he sits down in front of her and slides the door shut, as if that would give them more privacy. "What is the lazy Kangaroo doing all the way over here? You came just to see me? Oh, I feel so honored."

He grimaces, placing one hand in front his face while rubbing his temples. "Please," He starts. "Shut up, you troublesome woman, and listen to me." Her eyebrows rose and she leans back a little bit more.

"You're never going to get a girl with that attitude, but okay, I'll stay quiet while you talk." Her smile never quite left her face as she watches him squirm because of her comment.

"Choji told me to… fetch you." He frowns, staring at her sternly. "For that dinner thing; he said he had to round up everyone else and told me to get you."

"Oh." She looks up; honestly she wasn't planning on going to that thing, that's when a thought hit her. "How'd the lazy Kangaroo find me?"

Frowning, his eyes narrow at the nickname before answering, "It was easy to track you if you ask the right questions… You're not very good at hiding your presence."

She shrugs, "Just wonder, there was no reason TO hide my presence." Standing up she slides her swords into her obi before holding out her hand to him. "So, we going or not?"

He grunts before taking her hand and gets pulled up. He looks her up and down before frowning deeper and motioning towards her outfit. "Don't you have anything else to wear?"

Laughing she walks by him and opens the paper door, "Nah." Stopping in front of the older couple she bows and says lightly, "Ojīchan, O bāchan, Kangaroo and I are going to meet some of his friends for dinner. Please, you do not need to wait up for me." She offers them a smile before motioning Shikamaru to follow her and walks out.

Grumbling under his breath about how troublesome woman could be he offers the inn keepers a bow before walking after her, not going any faster because she was ahead of him. When he exits the inn he noticed that she was standing in the middle of the road, her head tilted up towards the sky and her eyes closed. A light breeze was passing through and it rustled her hair and clothing, as if it was tugging on her; begging her to go in that direction. With the sound of him closing the door her eyes open and slide over in his direction, her head slightly moving so she could see him; a light smile touches her lips.

"You ready?" She was acting as if she was the one that picked him up instead of the other way around. He frowns again before walking up to her, how can one girl be so damn troublesome? As she walks away he follows her, his hands firmly stuffed into his pockets while her arms were inside her kimono, crossed and resting over her stomach. Both of them were quiet, she didn't attempt to start any conversation and he didn't offer to answer any questions she may have about the village. It wasn't as much as an awkward silence, nor was it a tense one; the silence around him was calm, almost relaxed as a random breeze blew past them.

She ends up stopping when a particularly strong breeze rushed by them, her head turned up slightly to get the full blast as her eyes closed halfway. Her whole faced relaxed and she was unable to resist the smile that pulled at her lips. Shikamaru, unaware that she had stopped, suddenly looks back at her with a frown. In the back of his head he thought she was looking at a shop's window, like any other girl would, but was mildly shocked when all she was doing was feeling the breeze. Huffing he walks back over to her before grabbing her kimono sleeve and tugging on her.

"Come on, we're going to be late." He didn't release her sleeve, just in case she happened to stop again, and couldn't help but groan when her question pierced the quiet.

"We're? So… You're going to the dinner?" He could practically hear the grin in her voice before yanking on her sleeve to make her walk faster.

"Yeah, I'm being forced. Don't look to into it."

When they reach the restaurant she noticed a group of teens standing out front that was no older than she was. At the sight of Shikamaru one of them calls out for him to hurry his ass up; apparently that young male was quite hungry. He sighs and releases her sleeve before stopping at the edge of the crowd.

"So, this is the girl?" A female voice asked; her hair was short and pink, her eyes green, and she was around the same height as Kumo, herself. Wearing a pink shirt and black skirt Kumo couldn't help but notice her boobs weren't all that big but her forehead was larger than normal. When Shikamaru nods she grins and holds out her hand, "Hi, I'm Haruno, Sakura. What's your name?"

"Kumo." She takes the girl's hand and gives it a firm handshake before releasing and sliding her hand back into her kimono.

"Nice to meet you Kumo," Sakura starts before motioning towards people and naming them off. "This is Inuzuka, Kiba" A brunet with red upside down triangles on his cheeks waves, a quite large white dog barking, "Oh and his dog Akumaru. This is Hyuuga, Neji," Another brunet, although his hair was quite long, nods in her direction; she notes with amusement that he, too, was wearing a kimono of sorts. "And his younger cousin, Hyuuga, Hinata." A shy looking girl squeaks before waving at her; her long dark indigo hair reaching her waist. "Uhm… You already know Choji… and that stupid boar-"

"Who are you calling a stupid boar, billboard brow!" Yamanaka yells in Haruno's face.  
"OBVIOUSLY YOU, you stupid boar!" Haruno snaps before going back to interdictions. "Um, you already know Naruto," He grins and waves at her frantically, but before he could say anything Sakura covers his mouth and pushes him to the ground. "That's Aburame, Shino." Another brunet, but she could hardly tell with his hood up. He seemed like the quiet type, he probably got dragged here against his will as well. "That's Rock Lee," She barely had time to say his full name before a black haired boy clad in a green one-suite jumps out in front of her and yells about how joyful it is to meet her and her divine youthfulness. Looking up at him she seemed unfazed by his thick eyebrows and outrageous outfit; she offers him a smile before Sakura pushes him away from her and sighs. "Anyways," She clears her throat and glares at Lee, "That's all of our friends we could get on such a short notice. Everyone, meet Kumo; Kumo, meet everyone!"

They all said hi before Sakura herds everyone inside the place and they were seated. The waitress sat them at a large round table that was able to sit eleven people and Sakura decided to take it upon herself to pick where everyone sat. So from clock wise it would be Kumo, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Shino, Lee, Neji, Hinata, Naruto, Ino, and then herself, Sakura. Neji started grumbling though and switched seats with Hinata who was blushing over the fact that she was next to Naruto; but when Shikamaru tried changing seats everyone said no. It wasn't that they didn't want to sit next to Kumo; they were just told about this morning from Choji and were overly curious as to what would happen if they sat next to each other.

When the waitress came back and asked what they wanted to drink everyone fired off their preference until the only ones that were left where Shikamaru and Kumo, herself. For a moment the whole table was quiet until, at the exact same time, they both said "Water"; although Kumo added a "please" at the end. The majority of the table ended up in a fit of giggles while Shikamaru glared at Kumo and she busied herself looking down at the menu.

After a moment or two everyone was in their own conversation, weather it was with the person right next to them or the person across the table, they didn't seem to care as long as they could talk. Sakura turns to Kumo and, in a slightly louder voice so everyone could hear, asks "So, Kumo, where are you from?" Everyone went hushed as the look at her, their questioning eyes all wanting to know the answer.

"Well," She starts, never taking her eyes off the menu although she could feel their gazes. "I'm from all over. Since I'm a nomad I tend to travel where the wind takes me."  
"Yeah," Ino chimes in, "It's so obvious, billboard brow, you're so stupid for asking."

Sakura glares at Ino before clarifying, "No I mean, where is your hometown?"

The air around Kumo seemed to get colder before a soft smile touches her lips. "You wouldn't know the place, don't worry about it."

Everyone seemed to understand that she didn't want to answer that question and if they kept pushing it she would probably do something bad so they dropped it. Instead Lee chimes in as he leans over the table with his excitement.  
"Kumo-san, what kind of fighting do you do? I see that you use swords, are you well off in tai-jutsu?" Her whole body seems to relax and the smile on her lips grew.

"Yes, I suppose I'm decent in tai-jutsu… although I mostly work with gen-jutsu and nin-jutsu."

"You work with gen?" Neji asks, he seemed very interested and her smile drops with his next question. "Would you mind showing me some of your gen later after dinner?"  
"Ah… Well," She smiles sheepishly, her eyes closing so she wouldn't have to see his disappointed face "My gen isn't something you would want to see. It's strictly for my enemies."

"Awww!" Naruto comes in, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting. "I was hoping to fight you!"

She laughs; setting down the menu she leans forward and leans her head against her hand, which was propped up on the table. "Uzumaki-kun, there was only one companion I was comfortable fighting with and it was only because he said if I didn't fight him he would kill me the next time we crossed paths." The smile on her face didn't quite reach her eyes, telling only the most observant that she didn't really like that one bit.

"Really?" Kiba asks, leaning forward to see her better, "Who was he?"

"Hmm?" She turns her head to look at him before her smile changes, a softness seemingly touching her eyes. "Uchiha-kun."

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**So like I said, I wont be able to write until Sunday, sorry so so sorry, I'll try to write a lot for the next chapter (I already have what's going to happen jotted down on my sticky notes so I wont have any writers-block 3)**


	4. Chapter 4

**So, I know I told you that I wouldn't be able to write anything until Sunday night (Which is tonight) and y'all'd have to wait until ... Tuesday night before I could publish... BUT... My plans were cancled and I found myself writing until I realized I had enough for a new chapter and wanted to publish it as fast as I could for you guys. **

**So... like before. **

**My Disclaimer: I do not own anything writen/drawn/published by Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my own OC(s) that appear in this story.**

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**Previously: **

"Kumo-san, what kind of fighting do you do? I see that you use swords, are you well off in tai-jutsu?" Her whole body seems to relax and the smile on her lips grew.

"Yes, I suppose I'm decent in tai-jutsu… although I mostly work with gen-jutsu and nin-jutsu."

"You work with gen?" Neji asks, he seemed very interested and her smile drops with his next question. "Would you mind showing me some of your gen later after dinner?"  
"Ah… Well," She smiles sheepishly, her eyes closing so she wouldn't have to see his disappointed face "My gen isn't something you would want to see. It's strictly for my enemies."

"Awww!" Naruto comes in, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting. "I was hoping to fight you!"

She laughs; setting down the menu she leans forward and leans her head against her hand, which was propped up on the table. "Uzumaki-kun, there was only one companion I was comfortable fighting with and it was only because he said if I didn't fight him he would kill me the next time we crossed paths." The smile on her face didn't quite reach her eyes, telling only the most observant that she didn't really like that one bit.

"Really?" Kiba asks, leaning forward to see her better, "Who was he?"

"Hmm?" She turns her head to look at him before her smile changes, a softness seemingly touching her eyes. "Uchiha-kun."

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Silence filled the table, so heavy that it seemed like one small sound would cause complete chaos; Kumo picks her menu back up and starts to scan it again. It was several minutes before someone finally spoke up.

"Sasuke?" One of them, Kumo wasn't quite sure for her head was down, hesitates to ask; the whole group of friends were tense, staring at the girl who claimed to be a traveling companion to the missing Nin.

"Oh?" Her eyebrow rose, completely ignoring the tense atmosphere as the waitress comes back with drinks. "So you know him? I thought he said he didn't have any friends. Oh, miss, I would like the beef noodles, hold the onions."

The waitress nods, writing down the order before looking to everyone else. No one moved for a time then slowly, starting with the lazy Nin besides her, they order and the waitress walks away. For the longest time they all sat in silence until the food came out and they slowly started to eat; every action from the friends seemed to be done with hesitation. "Where is he?" Sakura finally asks, keeping her head down and her voice soft; as if she was straining to keep her voice from breaking.

"Don't know." Kumo responds absently, slipping a chopstick full of noodles into her mouth.

"Where is he?" She asks again, this time a lot stronger than before, her head raised to look Kumo dead in the eyes.

"I. Don't. Know." Kumo states, as her eyes hardened, putting a slight pause between words to empathize her answer.

"What do you mean you don't know!" Naruto snaps, slamming his hands on top of the tables as he stands. "If you say you travel with him you HAVE to tell us! We've been looking for him for...for"

He drifts off, his voice breaking as his eyes darken before Hinata finishes more quietly, "A long t-time, now..."

Setting her chopsticks down gently onto her plate she frowns and leans back in her chair to view them all. Slipping her hands into her sleeves absently she crosses her arms over her stomach and sighs, she could obviously tell their desperation at finding where their friend was.

"Look." She starts, shifting her eyes to meet each and every one of theirs. "Uchiha-kun and I… we met on accident a year or so ago… We don't keep in touch and we barely see each other… whenever we do he challenges me to a fight and if he wins he kills me, if I win I can travel with him until we part ways… obviously I'm still alive and he's out there somewhere." A sad smile touches her lips and she looks down at her half eaten plate.

"Can… you tell us… how you met Sasuke-kun?" Ino asks; her normal strong voice was timid as she held back the urge to yell like Naruto had done.

Her eyes soften and the smile becomes a little bit warmer. "Sure."

_Around the time when I became a nomad it seemed like I looked weak and naïve because I often had a 'lost in thought' look. So while I was walking I was ambushed by three robbers… Before I could do anything though Uchiha-kun jumps out of the trees and kills two of them with his sword pretty quickly… The third one decides to use me as a hostage and demand that Uchiha-kun let him go or he'll harm me. _Kumo at this time laughs dully, slipping her right hand into her bangs and pushes them back behind her ear, which after her hand left fell right back into her face again, before continuing._ Of course Uchiha-kun didn't care if I died or not and would have ran his sword through me to get to him if I hadn't of used my gin-jutsu and escape. So … Uchiha-kun ended up killing all of the bandits. When he finally takes his sword out of the last one he looks at me, who at the time was leaning against the tree quietly; he starts to walk towards me, ready to kill me just like the others but I stopped him. Raising my hands I say "Oi, there's no reason to kill a nomad, is there? I don't know who you are, nor do I want to, but what I do know is that there is no reason to kill a random nomadic female." Of course he only stopped but from the look in his eyes it seemed like he didn't care either way if it was a waste of time or not to kill me. Finally though he crosses his arms over his chest and asks "Are you strong?" Before I could answer though he scoffs and says, "of course not; a strong person wouldn't have gotten caught by those idiots." _Laughing as if the memory highly amused her she picks up her chopsticks with her right hand, which still sat inside her kimono, and twirls it around her noodles; obviously she wasn't going to eat it anymore and was unsure what to do with it. _I got mad… so I told him to shove it and that I was strong, in fact I was stronger than him. That got his attention and his arm drop before he placed one on his hip. "Fine; I won't kill you if you can beat me." So we fought, right there in the middle of the road… although it moved from place to place until finally I beat him. He was angry but he admitted that a promise was, in fact, a promise and said he would let me live but said if we ran into each other again we would fight. When he was turning to leave, bleeding and all, I asked him if he wanted to be treated and that I would do it if he allowed me to travel with him for a time. He declined, obviously, but I pushed until he finally gave in and sat still enough for me to bandage him. After words I found myself walking besides him, though we were a good meter or so apart, for three days. We stayed away from villages and hunted our own food… sometimes if I found something big enough we would share it together but if he did he'd say I had to earn my own keep. _Laughing again she motions for the waitress to take her unfinished plate away and asked for a refill. She waited for the waitress to come back with the drink and disappear before continuing; a small, sad smile touching her lips. _On the fourth night… I left him. We were sitting at the fire when I felt like I should move on… So I stood up, told him my name, and began to walk away. A moment later he was in front of me with the sword at my neck, asking me "where the hell do you think you're going so quickly?" Laughing I told him that I often get called by the wind, and I find myself following it to my next destination… and that if he didn't like it I was almost happy to stay with him. He finally lets his sword drop from my neck and steps aside; a deep frown set on his lips as he watches me walk by him. To my shock before I was out of hearing range he said "My name is Uchiha, Sasuke."_

"So," She finishes, "This is how I met Uchiha-kun." She was mildly pleased that they didn't interrupt her as she talked and waited patiently for them to process the story. The first one to respond was Neji.

"You beat that Uchiha." It wasn't much of a question so much as a clarification, which she gave with a single nod before Rock Lee exclaims,

"WOW! I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT THE AMAZING UCHIHA WAS BEATING BY MISS KUMO!" His eyes were filled with tears as he leans forward and continues, "MISS KUMO MUST BE VERY SKILLED, PERHAPS YOU WILL ALLOW ME TO FIGHT YOU?"

"I want to fight you too!" Naruto chimes in before Ino punches him behind the head, ultimately causing him to do a face-plant onto the table. Kumo offers them all a soft smile before standing up and dropping a gold piece onto the table.  
"I am sorry, Lee-kun, Uzumaki-kun, but I cannot fight you. I strictly fight my enemies, only; please understand I just do not want to injure you, or far worse." Although her smile was soft her eyes were hard and cold; the green seemingly turning to a jade shade as if it had frozen over. "Now…. I must go. It is late and I do not wish to upset the inn keepers." She slips out of her spot easily enough and was gone from the restaurant before they had any time to stop her.

She was a good two blocks away before someone called out to her.

"Hey, you troublesome woman, wait up!" When she stops and turns her head she couldn't help but smile at the lazy Nin that seemed to over exert himself while jogging up to her.

"Why, Kangaroo, I didn't realize how special I was to you to make you run." A devilish grin graces her lips as she turns to him and places her right hand on her hip. The scowl on his face almost made her laugh but she held it in, her eyes dancing with amusement the only thing that gave her away.

"That troublesome Haruno told me to catch up with you or she'd make my life hell." He growls, his hands being forcefully stuffed into his pockets before stopping in front of her. "She said a man needs to walk you home and she didn't trust any of those stupid idiots to do it."

This time she did let her laugh ring out before slipping her arm into his and started to walk forward. "Well, remind me to thank Haruno-Chan next time I see her, okay?" He grumbles but doesn't pull away as they walk through the empty streets.

There was a comfortable silence between them as they walked; him at a lethargy pace and her happily complying. No one spoke and when they finally made it to the rundown inn she was nearly falling asleep on her feet. Shikamaru rolls his eyes before pulling his arm away from her and gently shaking her shoulder.

"Hey, troublesome woman, we're here. Go inside so I can go home." Neither his voice nor his tone changing from the bored and unrushed hum; he shakes her shoulder once more before she finally yawns.

"Ja, ja," She mumbles before pulling away from him and walking towards the door. "I'll go now… bye Kangaroo." She slipped inside the inn and smiles lightly at the old couple who had stayed up to wait for her. "Aw, O bāchan, Ojīchan, You didn't have to wait up for me."

"Yes, we know," O bāchan says lightly, her hands flattening a napkin that laid on the table with both of her withered hands. "But, we wanted to make sure that you got in safely."

Kumo smiles down at the older couple before bowing low. "Thank you so much for worrying," Her voice was light and soft, as if it humbled her that someone could care so much. "I hope you don't mind that I came in late… but now I will retire to my room for I am very tired."

She didn't leave them time to say anything, as swift and as quietly as the breeze itself she slips inside her room and closes the door behind her. She looks around the room quickly for any devices that wasn't supposed to be there, a habit that she didn't quite get rid of from her past. When she was completely satisfied that nothing was there she slips her swords out of her obi, setting them down on her cot and starts to unclothe herself. First she unties her obi, folding it carefully and setting it on top of the desk before slipping her kimono off and hanging it on the back of the desk's chair. She looks down at her body with a deep frown on her face; she reaches up and undo's the bandages around her hair before setting the wad on top of her obi and running her hands through her hair. She sits down on the futon when she was done, running her hands over her white sword with bitter affection before laying stiffly on her side; placing a protective arm over all three swords before she falls asleep.

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**Okay... So I'll continue to write tonight but I probably wont publish anything until ... three or four days. I am moving into my dorm on the 19th so... I'm currently busy buying things I need, packing up my room and putting them in storage, all that jazz you have to do when going into college for the first time... so please bear with me if I dont add new chapters as fast as we would like.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay... So I'm probably late on the update and I'm sorry about that; but my aunt got it into her head that I was/am sick and that I had to visit the doctor... ANYWAYS I wrote a little more then I normally would, to make up for the late update...**

**So normal Disclaimers: I do not own Naruto, or anything that was created by Masashi Kishimoto; I only own my own OC(s) that appear in this story.**

**Oh, I forgot to mention this... anything that is in _italic _is either... Kumo thinking... or a flashback/dream... Okay? ^^ OHH... or her talking but me being to lazy to put in quotes.**

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_Why does this always happen to me? I ask myself dully as three thick, ugly males cornered me; at the moment my back was firmly against a tree and my hands itched to grab ahold of my swords._

"_No'aw girlie," The far right one coos, his devilish tongue darting over his slightly rotten teeth. "You 'on't got'a wor'e an'mo'e 'bout livin'… We 'ill sell you off to a nice home." His voice got on my nerves and his grammar was horrible but I still couldn't find myself able to draw blood. _

_Before I could finally accept that I would turn into a murderer once again a flash of purple and white flies past me and one of the bandits falls to the ground; his shoulder and neck splitting apart until it stopped at his belly button. The male that stood beside him was, in his own way, beautiful. With black hair that glowed blue I could almost overlook the fact that it spiked out behind him like a cockatoo; his skin, seemingly as smooth as a baby's, was pale despite the hot sun. _

_The other bandits didn't have time to react; as soon as their dead companion touched the ground the beautiful male was gone, appearing on the other side of the bandits and chopping down the second one. His sword glowed white as it sparked out and sliced into the hunk of meat with ease; he had no problem slicing the bandit's head clean off his shoulders._

_Seeing both of his companions die, though, the last bandit grabs ahold of my arm and yanks me in front of him, placing a hidden knife at my neck and growling at the rescuer, "Don't come any closer now, ya hear? Or I kill this pretty, little thing!" I couldn't help but snort; the look on my 'rescuer's face obviously said he didn't care if I died or not. The last bandit seemed to see this face too for his hand started to shake and I felt the bite of the blade as it nicked my skin._

_Swinging his sword to the side to get the excess blood off the rescuer strides forward, ready to sink his blade in me to get to his prey before I quickly do the hand signs of snake-ox-tiger, hopping that my gen-jutsu will help me escape._

_In my eyes everything was normal, except that I was able to slide out of the bandit's arms without any trouble and walk over to a tree a safe distance away before leaning against it. But in their eyes it was slightly different; as soon as I made the tiger sign my presence in their mind was erased. In their heads I was never there and the bandit had no one to hide behind. I got to watch with pleasure as the black haired rescuer smirk as the bandit fidgets before running to him and sliding his sword deep into the bandit's stomach. _

_At that moment I released the gen and the bandit's arm twitches before the rescuer rips his sword out, allowing all of the bandit's blood and guts to spew to the ground. 'Mm… yummy.' I thought bitterly as my eyes watch the blood pool on the ground. My eyes harden as my mind decides to bring me back to THOSE days and I was happy when the sound of wet footfalls broke me out of that trance. Looking up I see the rescuer, himself, walk towards me; his sword hanging loosely in his hands, to me a sure sign he would kill me faster than I think. I blink, he would kill me? Raising up my hands I halt his process slightly._

"_Oi, there is no reason to kill a nomad is there?" I realized my voice was nervous as I shifted from foot to foot. "Especially a female one that has no idea who you are…. Right? I mean, I don't care who you are… you don't care who I am… Why don't we just go our separate ways and leave it like that? Besides," I wave my left hand vaguely, "it's too much of a bother to kill me, right?"_

_The hard line of his mouth obviously told me that no, it was not a problem to kill me at all. I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Grumbling I cross my arms under my chest and sends him a glare. Absently I look at the outfit he was wearing. A white shirt and black pants, with a purple open obi tied with a paler purple rope; the outfit was a complete contras to my own, the only thing we had in common was the fact that we both used swords._

_Finally he crosses his arms under his chest, I note that he never sheathed his sword, and looks me up and down. "Are you strong?" The question was so random that I didn't have time to respond before he snorts and says, "Of course not; a strong person wouldn't have gotten caught by those idiots." I couldn't help but feel that my eye twitched before I pointed a finger at him and snaps._

"_You know what? Shove it up your ass, stupid chicken butt! I am a hell of a lot stronger than you are, by far." I was fuming now and by the looks of it he was too until his arms uncross and one of his hands rests on his hip._

"_Fine, if you're strong like you say you are you can fight me." I open my mouth to decline when he holds up his hand. "No, you fight me; if I win I kill you, if you win I won't kill you." I barely had time to say anything before he launched himself at me._

_Ducking under his arm quickly I rush down the road, my getas clip-clopping on the dirt road. I vaguely heard him say 'don't run you coward' before a blast from his chidori rushes by my head; barely missing me by several cm. Crap, I jerk to the side and dart into the woods, how the hell am I supposed to beat him without killing him? I duck under a branch before its cut down by his sword._

"_Why are you running?" He taunts as I duck under another tree branch before jumping up into the canopy. Looking this way and that I try to find a big opening before falling through the branches, happily avoiding a deadly swipe of his sword._

"_Not really running, per say" I called back, ducking between branches and the swipes of his sword. Man, could he run fast. "More like, looking for my winning card." Found it; an empty field that was normally out of view from travelers. I grab ahold of a branch to swing my body in that direction; letting it go before the rescuer turned assassin swipes his sword past it and it snaps. I stumble into the clearing, pulling out my first black sword before turning to him; he was already standing before me, a good five meters or so away with an outright annoyed look on his face._

"_Are you done running now?" His voice was irritated, his body stiff. I couldn't help but shrug, rotating my right arm as if to pop the kinks. _

"_Sure, but I wasn't running to begin with," I flash him a smile. "Just relocating."_

_I spin my sword around my body, causing beautiful arches to surround my body. When I notice that his eyes had turned red to watch the path of my blade I smile at him, although I know the feeling didn't reach my eyes. "You have time to quite this fight before I end up hurting you."_

_He scoffs, sliding into an offensive stance, his sword held ready over his head as he waits for me to finish the play of my sword. I sigh, my blade slowing down slightly before I sped it up, light blue arches being left behind by the swift passage of the blade._

"Enerugī kyūshū-hō," _My voice sounded dull against the wind and my eyes close half way as I watch his eyes widen at the unfamiliar jutsu._ "Heihei Ichi… Kenbu." _Darting forward I slice at him, the blade bouncing off of his before ducking and slicing again. Although most of the attacks either missed or were blocked my movements started to grow faster until it seemed like I held no blade at all._

"_Don't let Ichi taste your blood." I said quietly, as if I was unable to speak above a hushed tone. "If Ichi tastes your blood you are done." His posture slips as I thrust my sword; I was disgustingly happy to hear the wet rip of skin as Ichi slides into his shoulder. He cries out in pain before pulling away, staggering as if a huge chuck of his energy suddenly disappeared. His eyes raise and he glares at me, my sword raised above my head and my knees bent. My blade glowed blue from the stolen chakra and I offer a sad smile._

"_I told you not to let her taste your blood. Ichi can steal your chakra if she does." He growls before powering up his chakra into his sword. The chirps of millions of birds buzzed around as his sword begins to glow and crackle with lightning. Doing a backflip to get out of his range I land lightly on the balls of my feet and slide Ichi into her sheath; she was practically purring with contentment. _

"_Would you like to stop the fight now? Your wound looks bad." Although I asked him I knew it was futile as he runs forward, his sword back to get ready to chop me in half. Absently I slide out my second black sword and breaths out; doing the sign for ox-rat-dragon with one hand a fierce tornado forms in front of me and takes the bulk of his attack. Lightning sparks everywhere as a big explosion sounded; both of us were blown back, him landing on his back before flipping over and sliding back on his feet and me slamming to the ground on my hip before rolling to a stop, only to jump up onto my feet and freeing my sword from__ the ground where it landed next to me._

_Examining the blade I smile bitterly when there were no nicks in sight. Hearing a step in my direction I notice him pulling his sword out as well before looking at me with a frown. His left shoulder was bleeding pretty badly; he had not moved it since Ichi bit him and now he has several scrapes from the explosion. Rotating his shoulder he disappears and I frown. Swinging my sword in front of me once I clear my throat._

"Enerugī Kyushu-hō, Heihei Nee_," My eyes open when he appears behind me, "_Tatsumaki no dangan."_ A fierce tornado wraps around my body and nocks him back. Ripping loose objects from the ground around me the tornado's scream pierced the area from miles around. I turn to face the male, my eyes were duller then when I used Ichi and my skin was pasty with cold sweat._

_Frowning deeply, his eyes still red, he starts to make hand signs; but I didn't give him any time to truly do a jutsu. With a slash of Nee several rocks that were in the grip of my tornado fly out to him with blinding speeds. One hits him in the shoulder, causing his hands to slip and his jutsu to not be completed. Another one nearly hit him in the knee but he jumped out of the way, also avoiding the rock that was aimed at his throat in the process._

_I swung Nee around my body, rocks flying from the tornado in all directions. I watch as the rocks before me crash into the trees, hitting them hard enough to break the bark and continue on to the trees behind the first or to take a huge hunk from the trunk as it grazes by. The same thing happens to the rocks off to my sides and behind me. If that was the case then the man should be either above me or below me… or very good at dodging killer rocks._

_I sigh before swiping Nee again and again, causing layer upon layer or rock to leave the tornado and fly out into the field that was slowly becoming bigger. "Come out; come out, where ever you are." I shout before a shadow above me catches my attention. Shifting my weight I look up at the man who was flying down towards me, his chirping sword raised above his head._

"_I'm finishing this!" As he pushes through the air and lands before me, he brings the sword down upon my head-_

Eyes snapping open when someone grabbed her, Kumo's eyes registered what her mind couldn't.

Male.

Roughly six foot.

One hundred and seventy three pounds.

Ninja.

Since she could feel his body hovering over her she throws her leg up, momentarily happy that her shin connected to his groin; when he doubles over slightly from the pain she grabs ahold of his hair and yanks him down next to her, swinging her leg loose from between his leg and throwing it over his waist to straddle his lap. Lastly she grabs ahold of his neck, her nails biting into his skin slightly as if to say if he moved she wouldn't hesitate to rip his jugular out. A kunai knife was at her throat before the ninja under her could do anything and she freezes; her mind in a whirl before Ojīchan's voice broke her from her daze.

"K- Kumo-Chan!" From the sound of his voice he was standing behind the ninja holding a kunai at her throat; at the door, looking in.

His voice woke her up and she realized she was about to kill someone again; tears start to form at her eyes as she stares down at the shocked Nin. Slowly releasing her hold on his neck she wraps her arms around her middle and trembles.

"Please…" She starts to mutter to herself. "Please…stop. No more… I don't want to anymore…" The ninja under her reaches up and grabs ahold of her elbows gently, pushing her back so he could sit up as his partner holsters his kunai and watches from the corner of his room.

"Rurousha-San." The male that held her says lightly. "Rurousha-san, it's okay. No harm, no foul. You didn't kill me." His soft hum allows her to stop her muttering and when she looks up at him her tears had stopped. He offers her a smile before sliding her off of his lap and standing up. "My name is Ken. I am here to escort you to the Hokage's office."

Frowning at the name she crosses her arms under her chest and realizes in the back of her head that she was naked. "Why?" Her voice was strong and held no hint that a few moments before she was like a child in tears.

He offers her a kind smile and motions for his partner to leave the room. "I don't really know. I was just told to escort a Miss Kyoui-kumo Rurousha to the Hokage's office." Her frown deepens as he steps out of her room and closes the door. "I'll leave you alone so you can dress."

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***Takes** **a deep breath* Okay, so... I have an idea of what will happen next BUT... since I'm packing my stuff for college I'll be a little distracted... Not to mention the stupid pills the doctor gave me makes me feel like a slug...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ooookay; so it's been who-knows-how-long since I last posted a chapter and I'm terribly sorry. I've actually got distracted writing my OTHER stories (Which I'm not publishing until I get a good idea of their directions) and whenever I looked at this one it didn't make me feel like writing anything...but that's over now (hopefully)...**

**Disclaimers: I do not own anything by Masashi Kishimoto; I only own my OC(s) that may, or maynot, appear in this story.**

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Glaring at the closed door for a few minutes she sighs and stands up, raising her hands high above her head until she pops her back. Sighing again she mutters a 'bothersome' before pulling her kimono on and tying her obi around her waist. Placing the end of the bandage in her mouth she pulls her hair up into a high ponytail before tying it with said bandage. Finally she leans down and picks up Ichi and Nee; slipping them into her obi on the left side before staring down at the white sword. Reaching down she hesitates to pick it up for only a few heartbeats before swiping it off the ground and thrusting it into her obi on the right side. Grimacing once more she slides open the door and steps into the living room; both of the shinobi were standing near the door as O bāchan was held by Ojīchan protectively.

With the sound of her entrance all eyes turned to her and she subconsciously tilts her chin up. Ken offers her a smile before motioning with his head that they were leaving; he bumps his partner's shoulder with his fist lightly before they both left the inn. Bowing slightly to the inn keepers she turns and walks out, catching up with the shinobi easily.

As they walked down the street, both shinobi standing side by side in front of her, they were graced with open stares from the citizens. Some of the gossipers would lean over to their friends and mutter their thoughts; some bad and others worse than that. As they walk past a flower shop that said 'Yamanaka' she could only assume it belonged to Yamanaka-Chan's family; she was proven correct a few minutes later when Yamanaka-Chan and Haruno-Chan run out of said store. As they call out to her the shinobi in front stop and turn to look at them; she did too after a moment of looking up at the sky.

"Yes?" Her voice was bored, dull and tired; obviously she didn't know why they seemed so scared and stressed as they stop in front of her. "Can I help you, ladies?"

"What's going on?" Ino asks as she looks at the shinobi behind Kumo. Ken smiles nervously before stepping forward and placing a hand on Kumo's shoulder.

"Well… You see the Hokage wants to see her. We were asked to escort her there." He glances at his partner before shrugging. "So if you don't mind we'll be on our way."

Both shinobi turn and start to walk away; Kumo shrugs at the girls, slipping her arms into her kimono and crossing them over her stomach before turning and walking away without a single goodbye. Honestly she didn't care if they were scared for her or not; she didn't see why they should be scared for a stranger but she has found that people in Konoha were different than most.

As they walked to the large red building and walked in Kumo glanced at everything without really moving her head, she couldn't risk the chance of getting jumped although she didn't know why she would be; she was always taught better safe than sorry. The shinobi in front of her lead her up the stairs, periodically passing up other shinobi who seemed to stop and stare at her as if she was a prized gem. Finally they reached the large double doors that she assumed led to the Leader's office; her eyes narrow as the quiet shinobi knocked on the door and a gruff female voice told them to enter.

Ken offers her a quick smile before him and his partner open the doors and they enter, along with a distraught Kumo trailing after them. The woman was well endowed with breasts, had long blond hair pulled into low pig-tails, a purple gem in the middle of her forehead and wore a light grey shirt that showed off her assets. She found herself raising an eyebrow when she spots the sake cup and bottle at the corner of the desk, partly hidden by the piles of paperwork.

"Ah, Kyoui-Kumo," Her voice was slurred slightly, a sure sign that she's had a few cups. "I'm glad you came. Sit," She motions to a chair in front of her desk before dismissing the two escorts. Ken waves to her, offering her a wink before closing the door behind him and his partner. Eyeing the chair she stays where she was and shifts her eyes to the female Leader with a blank face; the leader frowns before continuing. "Kyoui-Kumo-san I have heard that you know Uchiha, Sasuke." She pauses, her eyes searching her face before frowning at the lack of reaction. "They say you have traveled with him… I would like to know all the information you have on him."

Raising an eyebrow Kumo scratches the side of her chin with her left hand before looking up in thought. "His favorite food to eat is rice balls with Bonita filling." She states lightly, "He also eats tomatoes, although it's not because he likes them but because, apparently, they let him use his full potential." She didn't notice the annoyed look in the leader's eyes, or at least she didn't comment on it. "His sword is named Kusanagi and his hair looks like a chicken's but-"  
"Okay!" The woman snaps, slamming her fist onto her table causing piles of paper to fall to the ground and the bottle to tip onto its side. "I want to know where he is! What he's doing! I don't want the basics!" She was clearly annoyed but Kumo couldn't bring herself to really care; instead she tilts her head to the side, drops her hand back into her kimono and shifts her weight to her left leg before opening her mouth to talk.

"But …" pausing slightly she realized that she didn't know the lady's name before continuing. "Miss Leader-sama I only know the basics." She offers a small smile that was clearly a mask before continuing. "It is true that I know Uchiha-kun, that I've traveled with him but I do not have the pleasure of knowing what his dream is, nor where he lives, nor his plans. All I know is that whenever we meet he makes me fight him and if he wins he kills me and if I win I have the choice of traveling with him for a short time. The longest we've been together would be for 7 days, I do not try to earn his trust and he does not try to earn mine; we are merely travelers that know that groups are safer than solitude."

The woman growls before leaning back in her chair and glaring at her, Kumo could practically feel the anger radiating off the large-breasted woman but she didn't comment; instead she waited patiently until the woman opened her mouth to speak. When she did it caused Kumo to frown with displeasure.

"Until I trust that you are telling the truth you are hereby ordered to remain in the village." Kumo takes a deep breath, she didn't have a knack for yelling and she wasn't going to start now.

"With all due respect, Miss Leader-sama," She starts, forcing her voice to stay calm, cool and neutral, "but I am a Rurouni; I have left my village for the soul purpose of traveling and doing as I please." As she talked her voice couldn't help but grow colder until the lady was shocked that she wasn't spitting ice. "I do not have a master; I do not like being told that I cannot go where I want." The woman laughs slightly before leaning on her hand, which had her elbow propped on the table.

"Little girl," She starts before flicking her free hand's finger at her. "I am issuing, with the power of the Hokage's power that I possess, a village emergency. As long as you do not help us with our quest to find Uchiha, Sasuke you are hereby ordered to stay in this village and I will make sure you do so." A wickedly evil grin forms on her lips before she causes Kumo's dread to deepen; although she didn't show it on her face. "And to make sure you stay put you will be escorted everywhere you go. No exceptions."

Shifting her weight from either of her feet it seemed like she was going to do something, although her feet stayed planted on the ground. The woman could feel the killing rage build up in the girl but she showed none of it on her face, which remained perfectly neutral. The woman wondered idly where this girl had learned such self-control but wasn't sure she would get an answer if she asked.

"You will regret trapping me here in such a small place." Kumo states, her voice not holding any of the rage the woman felt.

"Have you seen the size of this village? It's huge, you'll be fine." She tries to offer a smile but it fails when she sees the dead look in the girl's eyes. A curious frown touches her face as she leans forward. "The only way you can get out of here without my permission is if you beat me… Do you think you can kill the Hokage of this village?" Silence answers her question for a time and she was curious to see what the girl would do until the girl strode forward and placed her hand on top of her desk, a sad smile on her face and her eyes lowered.

"Yes; I do believe I can." The tension in the room rose higher but before anything could happen after that the doors burst open and a flash of orange flew past Kumo and over the desk, only to be stopped by the Hokage's hand on the flash's face.

"NARUTO," The lady snaps before pushing the frozen boy back over the desk. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

"Granny, Sakura-Chan and Ino said you arrested Kumo for no reason!" The blonde yells at her before jumping up and slamming his hand onto her desk, right where Kumo's hand was if she hadn't taken that opportunity to back up a few steps and remained quietly forgotten.

"I have my reasons, Naruto." She snaps at him, obviously trying to sound patient with the hyperactively angry boy.

"And what reasons are those?" He yells, throwing his arms up and waving them around wildly. "She hasn't done anything wrong! And she's really nice! She says she knows Sasuke and that he's still alive! Why was she arrested?"

"That's exactly it, Naruto!" She stands up and slams her hands onto her desk, by now all of the paper work littered the ground. "She knows where Sasuke is, don't you want him back?"

"Of course I do, believe it, but she doesn't know where he is!" Naruto yells back; waving at Kumo, who was shocked that he still knew she was there, he continues. "Kumo only travels with him if they run into each other, that doesn't mean she knows where he lives or anything! And you should know Sasuke! He doesn't tell anyone anything; why would she know something we don't?"

The lady was quite, blinking several times before leaning back and staring at him hard. "For once you actually make sense…" She mutters before glaring at him with annoyance. "Fine, so she doesn't know where he is, that doesn't mean she can't find him if she wanted. The order stands, she's to stay here until she agrees to help find Sasuke."

"If I may," Kumo buts in quietly, half to herself for she didn't expect them to listen to her. "But I don't think Uchiha-kun will allow himself to be found if he doesn't want to be." When they turned their eyes onto her she shrugs, "Honestly, he only lets me find him when he thinks he can beat me, and even then we've only met up a few times. If he knew I was with someone, especially people he knows, he wouldn't allow himself to be shown."

The woman grimaces before falling onto her seat and glaring at the table top, as if that would give her answers. "Then what do you suggest, Kyoui-Kumo?" Her voice sounded annoyed, bitter, and cynical at the same time; it made both Kumo and Naruto to frown with displeasure.

"I suggest you let me go, put a tail on me, and when I meet Uchiha-kun that tail sends a message to you and starts to tail him instead. It's a win-win for the both of us; you get Uchiha-kun and I'm not trapped." It was a pretty good plan, very logical and easy to deploy but the lady seemed to think of something and starts to shake her head.

"No. You'll just loose the tail that's following you, find Uchiha and tell him about this and both of you'll disappear. I'll not let that happen, you will be escorted everywhere you go by a minimal of four ninja at all times." Kumo almost had it in her right mind to scream but she remained as calm and neutral as possible. Before either of the teens could get the next word in she hits a button on her desk and two ninja enter the room; the two that had brought Kumo in the first time.

"You called, Hokage-sama?" Ken asks lightly, a small smile playing on his lips; when he sees Kumo he offers a kind wink before bowing to the lady gracefully.

"Yes," She nods before waving at Kumo who had turned to stare out the window with envy. "Find me a group of four to escort Miss. Rurousha around. Tell them they are not allowed to lose her from their sight." She was answered from a low growl, all eyes turned to Kumo who hadn't realized she did it. As her apology she lowers her head in a some-what bow before turning her head to the window again.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Ken bows again before he and his silent partner leave the room in search for Kumo's new jail-keepers.

For the next twenty minutes the office was quiet; the lady had gotten someone to get her a new sake bottle and she was now occupying her time drinking while Naruto started to fall asleep on the small couch that sat against one wall. As for Kumo, she was staying exactly where she was, in the exact same position; arms crossed inside her kimono, head turned to view the window and eyes trailing on the clouds that roamed over the sky. A nock on the door caused the lady to look up with slight panic before hiding her sake bottle while Naruto fell off the couch and Kumo to not react, as if she wasn't there in spirit, only body. The door opened and Ken popped his head in; he offers another of his trademark smiles before opening the door wider and allowing four ninja to step inside.

"Lady Hokage," Ken states; he was offering himself up as a stall for the drunken Hokage to get her bearings. "I found the four shinobi that you asked for. It was decided that Team Gai be her escort as of now, is that okay with you?"

The lady smiles at the thought of the team before nodding. "Yes, that is excellent. Thank you, Ken, are they here?"

Ken's smile grows before he nods, "Yes they are."

"Then let them in. It's best if Miss. Rorousha meets her new escorts as soon as possible."

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**I'm on a count down... As of today (the 13th) I have 5 days to move-in and 12 days to school-start... So if my updates get a little slow I'm ...sorry... Just message me and yell at me to hurry my butt up... I normally start writing a lot when I know someone's reading it...and actually like it...**


	7. Chapter 7

**LOOK-IT! I GOT MY FLASHDRIVE BACK I'M SO EXCITABLE YOU CANNOT BELIEVEHOWHAPPYIWASWHENICHEC KEDMYMAILANDITWASTHEREISWEAR IDIDAHAPPYDANCE! *Takes a deep breath*... Right well... here's the next chapter in the story... **

**DISCLAIMERS: I do not own anything by Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my own OC(s) that may appear in this story.**

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Previously

"Find me a group of four to escort Miss. Rurousha around. Tell them they are not allowed to lose her from their sight." She was answered from a low growl, all eyes turned to Kumo who hadn't realized she did it. As her apology she lowers her head in a some-what bow before turning her head to the window again.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Ken bows again before he and his silent partner leave the room in search for Kumo's new jail-keepers.

For the next twenty minutes the office was quiet; the lady had gotten someone to get her a new sake bottle and she was now occupying her time drinking while Naruto started to fall asleep on the small couch that sat against one wall. As for Kumo, she was staying exactly where she was, in the exact same position; arms crossed inside her kimono, head turned to view the window and eyes trailing on the clouds that roamed over the sky. A nock on the door caused the lady to look up with slight panic before hiding her sake bottle while Naruto fell off the couch and Kumo to not react, as if she wasn't there in spirit, only body. The door opened and Ken popped his head in; he offers another of his trademark smiles before opening the door wider and allowing four ninja to step inside.

"Lady Hokage," Ken states; he was offering himself up as a stall for the drunken Hokage to get her bearings. "I found the four shinobi that you asked for. It was decided that Team Gai be her escort as of now, is that okay with you?"

The lady smiles at the thought of the team before nodding. "Yes, that is excellent. Thank you, Ken, are they here?"

Ken's smile grows before he nods, "Yes they are."

"Then let them in. It's best if Miss. Rurousha meets her new escorts as soon as possible."

* * *

"Um… Lady Hokage?" Ken was hesitant, glancing over his shoulder at the small group before scratching his head. "They're already here."

While the lady sputters Kumo turns her head slightly to look at her new companions. She wasn't all to surprised when she meet the eyes of the male Hyuuga and the youthful Rock Lee; what she was surprised about was that Lee's sensei looked like an older version of him. Next to the Hyuuga stood a young brunette wearing a white and maroon Chinese outfit, her hair pulled up into matching buns. All of them stood in a straight line, looking very respectful as their leader slurs at Ken for bringing them in when she wasn't ready; she admits to herself that they had great control of their emotions, at least when it came to pretending that their leader wasn't drunk. Clearing his throat the older Lee steps forward and bows to the leader; he seemed to think that enough was enough.

"Lady Tsunade." His voice was strong and light, obviously he was showing her respect for both her power and her femininity. "If I may interrupt, why was Team Gai assembled here today? I assumed we had two weeks' vacation from the mission we just completed."

"Ah, right." She seemed to sober up quickly. "I have an important mission for you to do; you will not leave the village but it will take all of your skills as shinobi." Her eyes slide over to the young woman who had turned back to the windows, her hair seemingly moving gently in a nonexistent breeze. "I want your team to watch over Miss Kyoui-kumo; make sure she does not leave the village until she cooperates with my wishes, understood?"

Before the older Lee could speak up the younger one strides forward and bows, "Excuse me, Fifth Hokage!" His voice was loud with youth and it caused both the Lady and the elder Lee to cringe slightly. "PERHAPS I CAN INQUIRE AS TO WHY MISS KUMO HAS TO STAY HERE?"

"Er…" The older one grabs ahold of the younger one and pulls him behind him before flashing a bright and sparkle filled smile. "Excuse his excitement, Lady Tsunade; he cannot contain his exciting youth!"

Sighing Tsunade waves her hand dismissively before turning her eyes to the young female staring out the window. "Young lady," She starts, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly, "I would like you to meet Might, Gai, the leader of this four-man cell, Tenten-"

"Hyuuga, Neji and Rock, Lee." Her head turns and she offers the woman a small, understanding smile. "Yes, I know who they are." She didn't wait to see what the woman would do next; instead she turns and heads straight for the door. "Now that I know who my jailors will be I will see myself out. If I understand correctly you will not allow me to live until I give you something I do not have, there is no reason for me to stick around here then." She offers a small, mocking bow before slipping through the doors and down the stairs.

It was exactly three seconds before Lee caught up to her, and two seconds after that for the rest of the group to join them. For the next few minutes of their lives there was complete silence. There was times when Tenten tried to converse with the Swordswoman, but each time she failed miserably when all the woman would do was stop and gaze up at the sky. Lee had turned to throwing punches at an invisible foe for his training that he was currently loosing due to his new assignment and Tenten retreated to the back of the group to walk next to Neji. Their sensei was content to walking besides his young double, offering a few pointers to the boy when he would notice something slightly off; it was dusk when she finally stopped.

"I assume you will have posts at my hotel to watch me as I sleep?" She inquires softly, turning around to face them with sad, deep green eyes. She seemed unfazed that she had stopped and turned so suddenly Lee's fists was mere centimeters away from touching her nose; tilting her head ever so slightly she looks up at him before turning those sad eyes to his sensei.

"It would seem like we should," Gai muses before a wide grin full of sparkles spreads across his lips, "Or, my youthful little cloud, you could alternate between each of our houses! Wouldn't that be great?" He was loud and gutsy, and Lee was the only one of his students that acquired big sparkly eyes and pumped his fists in the air.

"That is a wonderful idea, sensei!" He exclaims, punching the air a few more times before turning to the 'youthful little cloud' and holding out his hand. "YOU SHALL SLEEP OVER AT MY HOUSE TONIGHT!"

Complete silence answered him before her shoulders lower slightly and she nods, "Very well, I suppose I can rest at your house, Lee-kun." A blush of happiness touches the young boy's cheeks before he gives his 'good guy pose' complete with sparkly teeth and a thumbs up.

"Great choice, I shall acquire your stuff!" And with that he rushes off before she could stop him. She shifts her eyes to the remaining group; Tenten was shaking her head with disappointment, Neji had a scowl gracing his face and Gai was grinning wildly from his student's youth.

"I do not have anything besides what is on me." Her voice was matter-of-fact and completely void of any emotion besides that. "Plus…. Lee-kun has no idea where I stayed up until now."

Tenten groans, her hand flying up to smack herself on the forehead before shaking her head. "That idiot…" Sighing she rose her head and places both hands on her hips before shifting her annoyed eyes to the swordswoman. "Looks like your rooming with me then, come 'on." Motioning with her head she turns to walk away, completely leaving the swordswoman to decide if she would follow or not. Her eyes turn to look at the remaining two males before tilting her head up to the sky, watching with half lidded eyes as her name sake floats across her sight with lazy indifference. She sighs before shaking her head slowly and turning to walk after the only female in the four-man-jail-cell.

It took twenty minutes to get from where they were when she asked her question to the small home of Tenten. It was modest, with blue shutters and a small front lawn with fluffy green grass; she didn't live in the busy part of the village but at the same time she didn't live in the secluded part. Obviously she wasn't a part of an important clan for she would have a huge house, this one only sat at two stories with a porch big enough for a comfortable looking rocking chair besides the front door. Tenten turns her head slightly and flashes a smile before jogging up the three porch steps and bursting through the front door.

"I'm home!" She calls out, only to be thrown to the ground by two small boys. She lets out an amused laugh as the boys try to tickle her before one of them looks up to see Kumo standing there in silence. He froze, only moving to nudge the boy next to him before that one froze too. With choppy short brown hair both boys had identical big brown eyes and button nose; dirt smudges coated their cheeks and their clothes looked like it could use a wash but they seemed like the typical seven year olds.

"Ah…" One started before the other one jumps and grabs ahold of his shirt sleeve.

"STRANGER DANGER!" The standing boy screams before they both bolt inside and around the corner. Tenten sits up, leaning on her elbows to watch where the twins retreated before tilting her head back and grins at the silent swordswoman. When she didn't return the smile Tenten's smile slowly diminished before she sighs and stands up.

"Sorry 'bout them, they act like this with everyone so no worries." She motions with her head to enter before kicking off her shoes. "Come on in."

For several heartbeats she didn't move but then she steps forward and slowly up the porch before closing the door behind her and slipping off her getas. She glanced around the hallway adored with family photos and her heart constricts slightly, running her tongue over her top lip she slowly walks down the hallway and turns the corner where the twins and Tenten disappeared too. It was a decent sized kitchen, with pale yellow walls decorated with roosters and white cabinets and counters; it looked worn from daily use and constant traffic. She blinks slowly when a woman wearing a white apron appears in front of her holding a spatula.

"Hi," She said cheerfully, her brown hair was bobbed and her eyes were the same brown as the siblings. "You're a new face, are you Tenten's new friend?" Before she could answer Tenten comes into view with a glass of orange juice and smiles brightly.

"She's a mission the Hokage gave my team, tonight she'll be staying with us if that's okay with you, ma." Kumo blinks slowly again, apparently this girl didn't hide much from her mother.

"Oh how nice!" The mother exclaims before pulling Kumo into a hug; she froze, unsure as to what she should do before she spots two heads peeking out from behind the counter.

"Mommy," One yells before the other one pipes in, "She's a stranger!"

"Oh, nonsense," The mother snaps, pulling away from the stiff swordswoman and shaking her spatula in a scolding manner. "She is a guest and we treat our guests with respect!"

She gives both boys a narrowed eyed look before smiling brightly and turning to Kumo; grabbing her hand quickly she didn't allow the Rurouni enough time to object before she pushes her into a seat at the kitchen table and takes a step back. Setting her hands on her hips she raised a delicate eyebrow, her lips smiling mischievously.

"Now then," she starts, looking the Rurouni up and down slowly. "What is the name of the mission that the Hokage gave my daughter? Sure you have a name, or do we call you Swords?"

Owlishly blinking it took her a moment or two before she finally found her voice. "…My name is Rurousha, Kyoui-Kumo… but people just call me Kumo." She wasn't at all comfortable with the woman standing over her like a bald eagle towers over her young; she wasn't use to feeling like a baby chick. The woman grins and pats Kumo on her head, ruffling her dark strands a big before moving away and behind the counter where she started to cook.

"That is a very nice name, Ku-Chan; you can call me 'ma' or 'mama' while you're here." She flashes Kumo another bright grin before nodding towards Tenten, who, after closer inspection from Kumo, was blushing with embarrassment. All this time she was just quietly leaning against the refrigerator but as soon as her mother made that comment her compositor was broken and she was shocked.

"Ma," The young kunichi exclaims, slamming her cup lightly onto the counter. "She already has a ma she doesn't need to call you that!"

The mother turns back to her oldest child with innocent eyes before looking down slowly, "I only wanted to make her feel at home…" Trailing off she sniffs, turning her head slightly so her daughter couldn't read her face.

"Ah…" Tenten looks to the twins who shook their head with disapproval before shifting her gaze to the quietly shocked swordswoman, who at the moment wasn't showing exactly how shocked the woman words were to her. "Ma," She whines, throwing her hands up in defeat a second later, "FINE, but only if she wants to!" She lets out a groan of annoyance when her mother jumps up and exclaims 'yes!', no tears on her face. "This is going to be a looong night..." She finally drifts off before dropping into the seat next to the stunned Rurouni.

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**SOOOO I GOT MY FLASHDRIVE IN THE MAIL TODAY (scared the local residence with my happy dance) AND RACED BACK TO MY ROOM IN A WRITERS FRENZY. I WROTE ALL OF THIS TODAY AND I'LL HAVE MORE LAAATER THIS WEEK (probably around saturday or sunday) OH OH OH OH ANNNDD I STARTED MY COLLEGE CLASSES TOOODAAAYYYY SO WOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTT**

**Oh, and I have no idea about Tenten's family, in fact she is probably one of my least favorite characters in Naruto because I don't know anything about her life (family wise)... so i just winged it while writing this. (Sorry to all you Tenten fans!)**


	8. Chapter 8

***Sighs* I am so sorry; I know i have not updated in a LONG while and for that I am truly sorry. College has been overwhelming and because of this bug going around I have, sadly, gotten sick. But that does not excuse me from not updating, during class I noticed that I have written small entries for this story but nothing that continued from my last update so it was extreamly hard to figure out what to put next. So... here is the next chapter and... I'm writing more as we speak...read... converse... er anyways...**

**Disclaimers: I do not own anything my Masashi Kishimoto; I only own my own OC(s) that appear in this story.**

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**Previously: **

"Mommy," One yells before the other one pipes in, "She's a stranger!"

"Oh, nonsense," The mother snaps, pulling away from the stiff swordswoman and shaking her spatula in a scolding manner. "She is a guest and we treat our guests with respect!"

She gives both boys a narrowed eyed look before smiling brightly and turning to Kumo; grabbing her hand quickly she didn't allow the Rurouni enough time to object before she pushes her into a seat at the kitchen table and takes a step back. Setting her hands on her hips she raised a delicate eyebrow, her lips smiling mischievously.

"Now then," she starts, looking the Rurouni up and down slowly. "What is the name of the mission that the Hokage gave my daughter? Sure you have a name, or do we call you Swords?"

Owlishly blinking it took her a moment or two before she finally found her voice. "…My name is Rurousha, Kyoui-Kumo… but people just call me Kumo." She wasn't at all comfortable with the woman standing over her like a bald eagle towers over her young; she wasn't use to feeling like a baby chick. The woman grins and pats Kumo on her head, ruffling her dark strands a bit before moving away and behind the counter where she started to cook.

"That is a very nice name, Ku-Chan; you can call me 'ma' or 'mama' while you're here." She flashes Kumo another bright grin before nodding towards Tenten, who, after closer inspection from Kumo, was blushing with embarrassment. All this time she was just quietly leaning against the refrigerator but as soon as her mother made that comment her compositor was broken and she was shocked.

"Ma," The young kunichi exclaims, slamming her cup lightly onto the counter. "She already has a ma she doesn't need to call you that!"

The mother turns back to her oldest child with innocent eyes before looking down slowly, "I only wanted to make her feel at home…" Trailing off she sniffs, turning her head slightly so her daughter couldn't read her face.

"Ah…" Tenten looks to the twins who shook their head with disapproval before shifting her gaze to the quietly shocked swordswoman, who at the moment wasn't showing exactly how shocked the woman words were to her. "Ma," She whines, throwing her hands up in defeat a second later, "FINE, but only if she wants to!" She lets out a groan of annoyance when her mother jumps up and exclaims 'yes!', no tears on her face. "This is going to be a loooong night." She sighed before plopping down next to the stunned Rurouni.

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After dinner the young weapon's mistress walked the Rurouni to her bedroom; bidding her little brothers and her mother a goodnight. Upon entering the young woman was surprised to see that, although Tenten was a tomboy most of the time, her bedroom had a touch of femininity. Her walls were a light color of pink, so light it looked like someone painted over it with white and pink was just happening to bleed through, the borders of the walls were white and the floors a soft light wood. The bed was a plush queen with a cotton candy purple comforter and matching sheets, the frame a cherry wood; it was sitting in the far corner of the room right across of the door, right next to the window that held a light, see-through, lavender piece of film that hung over the white curtains. A white door perched against the far wall, closed and hiding whatever was behind it- presumably the closet. As Tenten leads her in she walks to the bed and plops down, bouncing slightly before pulling her legs in to sit cross-legged; Kumo looks around, she noticed a cherry desk sitting on the far wall facing the wall instead of the window- it held scratch paper and small trinkets as well as a picture frame of her and her team. Walking farther in she glances behind her and notices a cherry bookshelf- which held other small trinkets as well as tons of scrolls, which if she had to guess held multitude of weapons.

"Sorry but we don't have a guest room; so you'll have to share a room with me tonight." Although she spoke Kumo was so busy looking around the room with a small curiosity she didn't quite hear. She has never been in a girl's room; she wondered if her room would have been like this if she had had a normal childhood.

"So…?" The voice of the young weapon's mistress pulled Kumo from her observations; it seemed like her voice was hesitant, as if she was unsure wither the swordswoman would agree with the girly ness of the room. Turning her head slightly she blinks slowly before nodding her head in an approving manner.

"It is a very nice room," She starts, walking towards the desk and sitting down between it and the closet door. "It shows that although you're serious about being a ninja and your training you also embrace your femininity. I very much enjoy the color; it's humble and shows that you have compassion as well as love and kindness."

Tenten blinks, a light blush touching her cheeks before she looks away, although she was happy that the young woman had complimented her she couldn't help but feel like she wasn't really there; as if she was speaking but her mind was somewhere else entirely. Shaking her head quickly she jumps out off of the bed and strides over to the closet door, which opened away from the sitting swordswoman.

"You can take the bed tonight; I have to stay on guard anyways so I'll sit at the desk." As she rummaged in the build-in drawers in the closet she glances over her shoulder when she noticed the young woman stand up. "I think I have some cloths that'll fit you, I'll ask ma to wash your kimono tonight so you can wear it tomorrow."

"That will not be necessary." The Rurouni's voice was bland and quiet, and when Tenten looked up at her like she was crazy the young woman continued, "This is your home so you will sleep on your bed; I swear on my Rurouni ways that I will not leave, however much I want to."

Tenten blinks again before pulling out of her small walk in and hands Kumo a bundle of clothing. "Fine, I'll trust you but you really need a bath." Her joking manner and the carefree laugh that followed made the Rurouni feel uncomfortable but she took the bundle and followed her female jailer to the bathroom.

"Here, left knob is hot and right is cold, take all the time you want; if you need anything I'm just down the hall." Tenten was surprisingly pleasant, it was as if she had offered many people baths in her home and as she walked out, so close to closing the door, she pops her head back inside and exclaims, "Oh, right! The towels are in the top cabinet, don't use the blue ones, those are for the twins." And with that she was gone, the door clicking shut behind her.

Kumo watches the door for three heartbeats before turning and noticing herself, for the first time in a long while, in the mirror. Blinking slowly she steps forward before a soft click caught her attention; looking down she noticed that her white sword had tapped itself against the sink as she moved forward, as if to tell her not to get near. She looks up again, noticing the soft black bags under her eyes just now forming and the pale look she had; she should probably eat more.

Taking her swords out of the obi gently she places them on top of the cabinet, away from any stray water that may get near them, and slowly started to strip. When she was clad in nothing but her bandages and her underwear she takes in a shaky breath before undoing the bandage. It took a moment of unwinding but when it finally fell to a heap on the floor she looked at her chest with sorrow. In the cavern under her left breast was a star shaped scar, the edges of it jagged and unclean proved it was a burn mark rather than a cut; her fingers touch it lightly before she looks away with disgust and rip the bandages from her hair and briskly walking to the tub, turning on the hot water before stepping inside.

When the tub was full and the water hot she found a spare loofa and, after lathering it up with soap, started to scrub at her skin until it glowed red. She wanted to be clean; she wanted all of these thoughts that stormed her mind to disappear like the grime that she scrubbed at. Half an hour later she sat in the lukewarm water, absently swirling her finger around the water and watching the after bubbles glide with her movements; a soft rap against the door caused her to look up.

"Oi, Ku-Chan?" The voice of her jailer's mother caused her to stand quickly, splatter of water announcing her movement. "Ku-Chan~ Tenten and I are about to eat some ice cream, when you're done getting dressed come down and join us, okay?" There was a slight pause and then the Rurouni could hear her retreating footsteps.

Sighing she unplugged the drain and steps out of the tub, slowly walking to the cabinet and pulling out a beige towel. Glancing at the mirror she does a double take and her eyes widen; her skin, once an olive tone, was now a cream color. It seemed that she had so much grime on her it had turned her skin a tan color; sighing she starts to rub herself down, she knew it was too good to be true, she was never one to tan.

Rubbing her hair dry with her towel she noticed that it had grown longer than when she had last taken an interest in it, although it did stay soft and smooth she wondered how with how much abuse it's been through. Wrapping her hair in the towel in the way that all girls knew she picked up the bundle of clothing that her jailor had given her and rose an eyebrow with wonder. Soft moss green the shirt hung off her shoulder's loosely with an open neck and white lace around the edge, it was printed with small pale yellow flowers; it's corresponding shorts were identical to the shirt, although it had pockets and a tie-string to make sure it didn't fall off your hips. She didn't find underwear and vaguely wondered if she should go without so that her only pair could get cleaned; she decided it was a logical conclusion and pulled the pajamas on before letting her hair down from the towel, it was better to let it air dry.

Giving herself one final glance in the mirror she gathered up her belongings and grabbed ahold of her beloved swords. Opening the door quietly she glanced towards either end of the hallway before stepping outside and looking towards her jailor's room, it was a good idea if she placed her dirty clothing in there but she couldn't quite come to terms wither she should place her swords in there or not. Stepping inside of the room she glances around before walking over to her previous spot, she dropped her bundle onto the ground before setting both Ichi and Nee on top of it; she would not part with her white-sheathed sword, not for any reason.

Slipping out of the room again she glides to the stairs and quietly walks down, ducking into the kitchen before offering a soft smile towards the weapon's mistress and her mother; neither of them commented on the white sword that hung around her waist with the aid of her bandages but both offered her warm smiles and hushed greetings- hushed so the twins wouldn't wake up. Walking forward she slips into a vacant seat and watches as the mother stuffs a spoonful of ice cream into her daughters surprised mouth; the swordswoman smiles gently, her heart constricting at how close the two seemed.

"Ku-Chan," The mother, who Kumo now realized never received her name, coos gently before handing the quiet woman a spoon, "I'm happy you came down to join us, do you like cookies and cream ice cream?" Taking the spoon gently she blinks owlishly at the woman before dipping her spoon into the carton and slowly bringing it to her lips.

"I have never tried 'cookies and cream' ice cream before," Her voice was stating the fact, and it surprised both women that she seemed so nonchalance about it.

"You've never had cookies and cream?" Tenten sputters as the unflustered swordswoman slipped the ice cream filled spoon into her mouth. Both women watch and were happy when she lets out a soft smile of delight.

"I have not, but it is good." She only wanted one spoonful and realized that she was suddenly so sleepy. Placing the spoon on the table gently she stands up slowly. "I am sorry to… 'eat and run' but I am painfully tired; perhaps I can retire?"

"Ah, yes, of course; goodnight, Ku-Chan." The mother suddenly springs up and pulls Kumo into a hug, their lower halves separated by the table; the young swordswoman noticed how Tenten grimaces and sends an apologetic smile her way. When the mother pulls away she holds Kumo still by her shoulders and stares at her really hard; nearly making the passive woman uncomfortable. "You have a good night, okay? I want you to be comfortable with us; don't hesitate to ask me for anything."

"Of course." She bows, glancing at her jailor before gliding out of the kitchen, up the stairs and into her cell for the night.

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**I know this may sound weird... but I was wondering if anyone was interested in posting a review telling me anything you don't like about Kumo... or... the story in general.. or any complaints I may take into account as I write... Sometimes I find myself not wanting to write because I dont think anyone really likes this story... ^^"**

**Oh~ And I forgot. I've noticed some reviews saying that they "thought Tenten was an orphan" Well... about that... I've looked at every "official naruto site" that I've found and not once did it say that Tenten was an orphan... or that her parents are shinobi... or that she had little brothers. It only said that she wanted to be as good as Tsunade so... I couldn't help but let my writer loose while writing this; I figured there's enough "I'm so sad, my parents are killed and I live alone" characters in Naruto already that I figured Tenten can have a pretty normal life... Again, sorry to all you Tenten fans 3**


	9. Chapter 9

**I would like to apologize for the late update; I was unsure about the dream and it took me several days to finally deem it... readable. I have also come under the impression that my body hates me... Anyways... I am about to have the Thanksgiving break that the college is allowing us to have and will be home and doing nothing for the next 4 days starting on Wednesday... I will be writing more but maybe not all that time will be focused on this story... some of it will be on Melting the Ice Maiden and others on the Gaara-kun story that I MIGHT be starting...**

**Anyways...**

**Disclaimers: I do not own Naruto or anything by Masashi Kishimoto; I only own my OC(s) that appear in this story.**

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Sitting in the small corner made by the desk and the wall Kumo had her arms crossed over her stomach with her dirty cloths sitting on her crossed legs and her beloved swords laying on the floor behind her, their sheaths pointing out for easy access. When Tenten walks in, closing her door quietly behind her, Kumo's eyes slowly open, watching quietly.

"Are you sure you don't want the bed? I don't mind sleeping on the floor tonight." Tenten's voice was quiet, it sounded like she didn't want to wake up her brothers who slept in the room next store.

"That won't be necessary." She blinks slowly once more as she watches the young Nin sits on her bed cross-legged with a frown on her lips. "I am uncomfortable with how… thick your bead looks. I will be more comfortable on the floor, Thank you."

When Tenten opens her mouth to answer Kumo holds up her hand for silence. "Tis fine, I have slept on the ground since I was young and lived with my nomadic family. If you wish to make your prisoner comfortable then you will allow her to sleep as she wants."

Eyes widening the young kunichi jumps off of her bed, "You are not my prisoner!" She snaps; it seems that what the swordswoman said greatly offended the young weapon's mistress. "We just…" Trailing off she looks down, circling her arms around her middle in a self-hug. "We want Sasuke back… We need your help…" Her plead didn't seem to faze the young woman, instead she calmly pushes her soiled clothing off of her lap, snug between her leg and her swords, before crossing her arms under her chest in a defensive manor.

"I am a prisoner for I do not betray Uchiha-kun's freedom." She starts, blinking slowly as she surveys Tenten's facial expressions. "You want me to find someone that does not want to be found. How does that not sound like a captor wanting information from a spy?"

With a strangled cry of frustration the Kunichi throws her hands up with defeat before stalking to her bed. "Fine, I give up!"

She yanks the comforter open before climbing inside and rolling onto her side, her back turned to the woman; sitting on the corner for a few moments she wasn't surprised when the angry weapon's mistress rolls over onto her other side so she could keep watch. She couldn't help but let a sad smile touch her lips, glad that the night's shadows hid it from the enraged shinobi, before closing her eyes, allowing sleep to overtake her.

_Time seemed to slow down, I felt the white sword pulse at my side but I couldn't allow it to overtake my conscious. Shifting my weight to my right I angle Nee so that his hilt was higher than his tip just as the man's sword connected with him. His blade slide down the length of mine until it connected with the earth and its chirping static seemed to jolt with anger before fizzling out. His eyes bolt to mine and I knew that he didn't want this to last longer, but he had an opening that he didn't know; clenching my left fist I let it fly and it connected painfully to his left shoulder, right above the wound Ichi made. He let out a gurgled cry of pain before jumping back out of my striking zone; he was breathing heavily now but his eyes seemed to blaze with new found passion. _

"_We can stop now; I don't want to hurt you." I knew it was futile but I still tried to call off the attack; I saw no point in pointless battle._

_He answered me with a disgruntled grunt before raising his sword, reading to attack at any moment; I sigh out of habit, I didn't want to hurt him but he seemed knuckleheaded and the only way to get him out of his peevishness, if only a little, was to hurt him truly._

"_You did well, Nee." I muttered to my appeased sword before shifting it in front of me. "We shall use your older brother to finish this, no?" It seemed to purr as she slid it into its sheath. I look up at the attacker with sad, calm eyes before placing my hand atop the white sword's hilt. His evident frown was obvious that he was unsure as to what it would do if I unsheathed it._

_I knew he wouldn't, as fast as a blink of an eye he was running towards me, he wouldn't allow me to unsheathe the third and final sword; the only sword that seemed to be different from the first two. He struck at my left arm but I knew it would happen so I shifted my weight towards my right side and grabbed ahold of Ichi with my left hand, yanking her up un-ceremonially to block the strike._

"_I won't let you take that sword out." He grounded out, applying more force into his strike to ward me off. _

"_Then you will call off this fight." I leaned into the locked swords, allowing some of my weight into halting his sword's progress._

"_Not until you lose." He growled; I sighed, he was so bothersome in his male ego ways. _

_Grabbing ahold of my white sword's hilt with my right hand I was about to pull it out when his hand grips my wrist. "You are not taking that sword out, woman." _

_My eye twitched, he was really getting on my nerves; releasing my hold on the hilt I yank my arm away from my body, happy to see that he wasn't expecting it and his body was pulled away from his sword. Quickly, not allowing him to correct his miscalculated mistake, I jerked my knee up and had the sick satisfaction of hearing it connect with his ribs. That wasn't enough to get him away, he only rose a few inches off the ground so before he could recover I threw my head forward and I had the painful knowledge of knowing that my forehead connected with his; it was enough for his head to snap back and his body to fall backwards. _

_Taking that as my chance I full unsheathe Ichi and pounced on him, straddling his lap before placing Ichi's blade across his neck. His red eyed glare caused a shiver to run down my spine but I ignored it, instead I leaned forward and Ichi cut into his neck with pleasure._

"_The battle is over, please say you forfeit." I couldn't help but offer a small, sad smile. "I do not wish to kill you." He growls but sighs in defeat, looking away from me with a very disgruntled face._

"_Fine. You win this round." Round? She tilts her head in confusion. "Next time I see you I will kill you." He continues, ah so that's what he meant. I pull away, shifting so I sat next to him with one leg still over his lap while I sheathed my sword. He sits up, staring down at my leg before shifting his now turned black eyes. _

"_You're bleeding." I ignored my leg and instead reached into my kimono to pull out bandages and ointment. He grunts, pushing off my leg before standing up; he was planning on walking away. "Hey!" Hastily I scramble up and run after his retreating form, "hey hold on, you need your wounds looked after or you'll get infected!"_

_I was able to halt his movement by standing in front of him, my arms spread out wide; he glares at me, which seems to be happening a lot. I glare in return before thrusting the ointment in his face, much to his displeasure._

"_Look, I don't care but if you don't let me treat your wound that Ichi gave you that arm may have to be amputated." His frown deepens but he sighs again in defeat and I smile happily. "Sit, I'll wrap your arm and that neck wound and anything else you have." _

_He complies, sitting down and pulling his sleeve off to reveal tone muscle and ivory skin. Sitting down next to him I wrinkle my nose at the scent of blood before digging inside my kimono once more and pulling out a rag. _

"_This might hurt." I comment with sympathy before rubbing the wound lightly, trying to get as much blood off as possible. To my pleasure he didn't grunt or cry out in pain, he just sat there calmly, his eyes watching every movement I made._

"_So…" I glance up at him before slipping the soiled rag back into my kimono, there was no point in ridding myself of the helpful cloth when I could wash it out later. "I can assume that you're not a people person?" _

_He grunts, that totally proved my answer and I couldn't help but roll my eyes before opening the ointment and smearing it into his wounds with my fingers. His shoulder twitches, looks like it hurt more than he led on. _

_He grunts, that totally proved my answer and I couldn't help but roll my eyes before opening the ointment and smearing it into his wounds with my fingers. His shoulder twitches, looks like it hurt more than he led on. After a few minutes of smearing the herb-smelling ointment around his shoulder wound and his neck I slip the ointment back into my kimono before starting to wrap his wounds with the bandages. _

"_Can I join you on your journey?" My question was out of the blue._

"_No." His answer was straight and no-nonsense. I pout openly at him, he was so mean!_

"_Why not?" I shift my eyes to focus back on the wrapping, making sure it was smooth and no too tight._

"_I don't know you." His answer was so simple._

"_I don't know you either." I resort. "I just a little bit lonely, and I'm not headed in any particular direction, let me join you for a few days and then I'll be on my way." He stares at me openly, his eyes full of distrust and suspicion. _

"_If I do anything to upset you you can kill me, ne?" He blinks slowly as I stuff the rest of the bandages into my kimono and stand up, holding out a hand to help him up. A long pause before he finally takes my hand; that was his acceptance. If he had not taken my hand it would mean that if I tried to follow him he would kill me._

_I couldn't help the smile that graced my lips, his hand slipped out of mine as soon as he was steady on my feet but I didn't care, I finally had someone to make me feel less lonely and I wasn't going to ruin it._

Movement, a light touch to her shoulder caused her eyes to snap open. She didn't know how It happened but one second her eyes were blurry from the bright sunlight and the next she realized her sword, Ichi, was pressed against Tenten's throat. She paled, as did the sword's mistress, and slowly she lowered the weapon. She looks around as Tenten moves back and saw how her kimono was washed, folded, and laying on top of the bed; it seems that she didn't react when her cloths were taken from her, just when she had been touched.

"It's time to get up, ne?" Her voice was shaky and Kumo blinks before nodding slowly.

"Gomen'nasai." The sword's woman mumbles as she stands up, watching as the weapon's mistress stands up as well and quickly goes to the door.

"I'll let you get dressed, mum washed it for you." She flashes a smile before closing the door behind her. When she was sure she was alone she lets out a sad sigh, her shoulders slumping forward. She did it again, she almost killed someone and that thought caused her blood to run cold.

Walking to the bed she strips from the temporary pajamas and pulls on the kimono, noticing how the dull gray looked a little lighter and the red birds a little more livelier. It took her a few minutes to make sure that her wrap was hiding the ugly scar but after several moments she was dressed and headed down the hall, fully aware of the voices that awaited her.

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**I am writing more as we speak... (As I type and as you read)... Please tell me if the fighting scene is too much or not enough, I will do my best to improve and make you, the reader, happy because (Lets face it) It is you that I write for and without you I would have no passion.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Gomen'nasai for not updating sooner! I got carried away with ...things... anyways! Here's the new chapter (it might be a weee bit short compared to the others but that's only because I'm also focusing on the other stories)**

**Disclaimers: I do not own Naruto or anything made by Masashi Kishimoto; I only own the OC(s) that appear in this story.**

Stepping into the cozy living room she felt all eyes turned to her; blank, white eyes, two sets of big black eyes, four sets of warm brown eyes. Instinctively her chin rose slightly and she turns her eyes to the group, noticing how the twins clung to their mother and how their older sister sat next to the stoic Hyuuga. The two Green Beasts sat next to each other, the younger practically bouncing with untold energy as they watched the swordswoman. She didn't move from the living room entry, her dark green eyes roaming over them the only thing that seemed to move. After a moment she takes a step, and then another, until she was in front of the twins and their mother before bowing low.

"Arigatō." Her light voice was filled with gratitude as she kept her head lowered. "I am beyond grateful for what you've done… For allowing me entrance into your home… and for taking it upon yourself to wash my clothing. Arigatō." Slowly she takes a step back before standing up straight and offering a kind smile.

"Oh, Ku-Chan!" The mother blinks happily, most likely blinking away tears if her bright eyes were anything to go by. "You're always welcome into our home!" The swordswoman smiles and takes another step back before the backs of her knees brush against the coffee table.

"Arigatō again," She looks at the others before blinking slowly. "I wish to walk around the village if you'll allow it." The younger Green Beast, Rock Lee, jumps up with fire in his eyes.

"Yes! Let us be off!" He bounces past the rest and rushes towards the door, his body humming with excitement.

"Ah! Don't you want breakfast?" The mother questions, standing up so suddenly the twins tumbled out of the chair and onto the floor with yelps of surprise. The sword's woman chuckles before helping the twins stand.

"No thank you, Ma'am." She slips pass the concern looking woman and towards the door where the older beast held the younger from ripping the door off the hinges and where the rest of the team looked at them with a mild mix of amusement, exasperation, and annoyance. She saw it coming but was unsure what to do when the mother suddenly pulls her into a breath taking hug.

"I told you, you can call me mama!" The woman gushes, clinging to the startled swordswoman. Unsure as to what to do Kumo shoots a frantic glance at the daughter of the clinging woman, inwardly frowning when all she received was a grin from the Green Beasts, a slight frown from the Hyuuga and a peeved sigh.

"Ma, we gotta go." She was met with a small 'nuh!' from her mother before walking over and prying off her mother's clinging arms. "Ma, we gotta go!"

Finally the swordswoman was free and out of the door with the mother calling 'come back soon' at her back. While Rock Lee was exclaiming about the youthful life of Konoha Kumo was able to look around, noticing how men ogled at her and how women eyed her up and down with curiosity. She knew they were curious as to whom she was, what she was doing here, and most likely, if she would stay.

"-ain, my little youthful cloud?" The team leader practically yelled in her ear, pulling her from her observations.

"Ne? Gomen'nasai, Gai-sama, I believe I was lost in my thoughts." She offers an apologetic smile before Lee appears in her face, causing her to stop least she slams into the youthful male.

"Gai-sensei wants to know if you'll be kind enough to train with us!" He shouts, fire forming in his eyes at the thought of sparing a challenging opponent. She blinks, did she want to fight with them and deem dangerous? Would she put their lives at danger just to fill their lust for training? Slowly she turns her head to look up at the sky, closing her eyes slightly when a gentle breeze caressed her cheek before sighing. She would allow them to be happy for they are also trapped in this predicament along with her.

"Lee-san," She starts softly, turning to look at his blazing onyx eyes', knowing fully well what she was about to say would let loose the excitement he was barely able to contain. "Let us go train, yes?"

As if the god of speed possessed him he grabs ahold of her wrist, yelled a loud "Yosh!" and was off down the road before his companions could blink. It took less than a minute but soon she found herself in the middle of a field surrounded by thick trees worn from something, probably kicks and punches from previous shinobi.

"Kumo-san, we will spar as we wait for the rest of our team to show up!" He was practically oozing with excitement; she could see it come off of him in waves.

"That is not such a good idea, Lee-san," She smiles sadly at him, watching as the fire dims in his eyes slightly. "You would not wish your dear companions to miss out on watching an amazing fight?"

Of course she was lying; she had no desire to fight him but she needed him to calm down, if only a little, so his team could catch up to him. Once they were here she would do something, perhaps cohere their sensei into letting her examine her surroundings before fighting. As she watches the young spitfire pound relentlessly into a tree trunk she frowns to herself; how was she supposed to get their sensei into letting her out of the fight and still sound like she was being 'youthful'?

It was another five minutes before the rest of the team showed up; the Hyuuga looked ready to murder the youthful young shinobi and Kumo couldn't help but smile. In their own way they acted like a slightly dysfunctional family; even she could see it and she's never had a thing called 'family.' Gai jogs up to his "mini me" and claps him on the shoulder, exclaiming loudly how the fire of springtime youth burned in his veins while Neji fumed next to Tenten who tried desperately to calm the raging Hyuuga before he went on a killing spree. She watches them for a moment, a content smile touching her lips before she wanders over to a fallen tree trunk and sits down gently, leaning her back against the rough bark. She was still in their sight, she wouldn't risk getting the nice team in trouble because she couldn't handle being locked up; she would just have to learn how to deal with enclosed spaces.

"Maa," A lazy voice caught her attention and she looks up with wide, blinking eyes. Leaning over the trunk Shikamaru stares at the energetic group with an expression of mixed annoyance and boredom. "They sure do love to train…"

She couldn't help it; she started to giggle, causing him to look down at her with a questioning brow raised. She waves her hand dismissively with her right hand before looking back at the group that was stationed to watch over her; at the moment it seemed like they completely forgot about her existence.

"Tsunade-sama told me they were watching over you." He spoke blasé, as if it was causing him too much trouble to start up a conversation and her smile gentles, her eyes closing slightly when a breeze filtered through the area.

"Hai…" A thought accrued to her and she looks up at him, her gentle smile turning sly. "I can only assume that the lazy Kangaroo questioned who was watching me?" She got to watch with amusement as he looks down at her, his expression saying he didn't know wither to hit her or to walk away.

"Nah, the hold hag wanted to know my opinion on wither we should let you free or not." She knew it wasn't any use but she tried to hide her reaction and her eagerness when she asked him about what he said. He answers her with a shrug, slouching more against the log as he watches Lee attack Tenten with vigor.

"Honestly?" She looks up at him to see that he was studying her under his sharp gaze, she couldn't help but gasp at how intense his otherwise bored eyes were; she nods absently, she wanted to know what he thought.

"I think you could use some relaxation time here, you probably don't know what a stable village looks like with all of your wandering so you're unsure wither to help us locate the Uchiha." Absently he scratches his cheek before turning his now bored eyes to the sparing match.

She tilts her head slightly before shifting her gaze from the male to the spar, softly inquiring to herself as to what a stable village would look like; did one even exists? They sat in silence for the rest of the spar; Lee had won and was in the process of basking in self-proclaimed glory as Tenten was gently scolded by Gai that she should train harder. Kumo felt bad for the young weapon's mistress for a moment but then a frown pressed at her lips; Tenten's sensei was far better than hers ever was so her pity feelings dried up like a cup of water in the desert.

"Hey," The voice penetrated her darker thoughts and she looks up with cloudy green eyes. It took her a few moments of blinking but she was able to focus on the slightly concerned but mostly bored face of the surprisingly handsome young man.

"Hai, Kangaroo?" She couldn't help but grin slyly when his face consorts to an irritated scowl, she knew he didn't like the nickname but couldn't bring herself to feel bad. Kangaroos were known fight with their legs, using their tails to support them and their joey's were often found sleeping most of the day away in the protective pouch of the mothers. Shikamaru was both using things to his advantage and sleeping his life away, thus, he was a kangaroo.

"You're not a ninja yet you can hold your own in a fight," It wasn't a question more than it was a simple observation that led into his real question. "So how did you learn to fight like that?"

He watched as her expression turn from confusion, then, slowly, to shock; her pale skin turning unnaturally ashen before she turns to look down at her lap. He could tell from her reactions that the question was an unwanted one, the subject was off-limits and that only made him more curious.

"Kangaroo," Her voice seemed rough, ragged but he couldn't tell if it was from anger or from holding back tears; he hoped it was the former, he could deal with anger but, for all of his brains, couldn't deal with a woman when she cried. It was like kryptonite to males; it made them stupid and they'll apologize for anything even if they didn't do it, just so the damn water works would stop. "I will ask you to please not bring up that subject, it is a bit touchy to me and I do not think I am ready to tell you, or anyone, about it yet."

He grunts before said grunt turns into a yawn; man he wanted a nap but that old hag wanted him to get information out of her. Yawning again he straightens up; maybe he can get some information after a nice, long nap. "Whatever, it's too troublesome to ask something like that anyways. I'm leaving." And with that he was gone, disappearing as quickly as he appeared, leaving a quiet swordswoman to her dark memories.

* * *

**Nya~ Nya~ The reason behind his nickname is explained! Kumo's past is brought up only to be shot down! Woooo~ *Notices how my roommate rolls her eyes and laughs lightly* Gomen'nasai~ I'm acting like a child and I normally don't...**


	11. Chapter 11

**Aya, gomen'nasai for not updating until now~ Honestly I was so distracted with my other store Melting the Ice Princess but this is a chapter just for you! Ah, think of it as an early new year's present from Me to You, my faithful readers!**

**Disclaimers: I do not own Naruto or anything made by Masashi Kishimoto. I do, however, own all of my OC(s) that appear in this story. Enjoy~**

* * *

"My beautiful little cloud, why are you sitting all alone and not training with us?" An overly loud voice calls out to her, pulling her from the depths of her dark mind. When she looks up at the voice her eyes were slightly glazed over, enough that it caused a look of concern to pass through the group before it disappeared and she smiles softly.

"Gomen'nasai, Gai-sensei," She looks over her shoulder slightly in the direction that Shikamaru had left before looking back at Gai and smiling a little bit more. "Nara-kun just came by and informed me that your Hokage doesn't want me to train."

Silence, momentary silence before Gai and his little copy exclaims in shock, drastically getting their face close to hers as they shout questions at her about why. Tenten, understanding how it feels to have them in one's personal space, was trying without success to pull them away from the baffled young woman.

"Maa, Gai-sensei!" Tenten exclaims, pulling with all her might at the arms of her upset sensei. "Gai-sensei, Kumo can't explain if you're in her face!"

"But Tenten-Chan!" Gai whines loudly, chorused by a disgruntled Lee, "Our little cloud doesn't get the privilege to train with us! Isn't that so sad?"

"There must be a good reason!" Tenten exclaims loudly, it seemed that she was getting very irked with her sensei.

Finally the young weapon's mistress was able to pull her comrades off of the still bemused swordswoman, although it should be pointed out that she was only able to pull them away because they LET her pull them away. Tenten wipes the sweat off of her cheek with the back of her hand before shooting a glare at the quiet Hyuuga who was perched against a tree, an irritated scowl on his otherwise stoic face.

"Ah, Ano, Kumo-San, why does Tsunade-sama not want you to train youthfully with us?" The young swordswoman looks over towards Lee, noting how his eyes were shiny and wide as his hands were clapped together in front of his chest.

"Ah, Lee-san." She chuckles softly before shifting her eyes up to the sky and watching as a cloud made its way over the trees. "Would any wise leader want a person she does not trust to train with her people, possibly killing them and making it look like an accident?"

Her question caused the team to slip into silence for a moment, each looking at the other before resting their slightly guarded yet still somehow saddened eyes on the young woman who has yet to look away from the cloud. She knew they were watching her, she also knew that she had vowed never to kill unless she absolutely had too; but they didn't need to know that part.

"Oye," The Hyuuga's calm voice caused her eyes to tear away from the sky slowly and rest on his relaxed but still void of emotions face. He seemed to be the only one that wasn't weary of her, although it made her life a little easier and her heart a little lighter she wished he would be cautious of her like everyone else.

"Hai, Hyuuga-san?" Tilting her head slightly to the left she let her hair fall into her face before a gentle breeze pulled it back.

"When Tsunade-sama decides that you aren't a threat to us," He pauses a moment, his eyes narrowing as if what he was about to say was not up for discussion. "We will fight and you will show me your Genjutsu."

Her eyebrows raise in surprise before she starts to giggle; she quickly covers her mouth and closes her eyes to shield herself from the frown that formed on Neji's face from her reaction. She couldn't help it, his face was so serious when he declared their future fight that she couldn't take him seriously. A few moments later she was able to stop, wiping a stray tear that graced the corner of her left eye before smiling brightly at the now scowling with distaste Hyuuga.

"Gomen'nasai, Hyuuga-san," She couldn't quite contain the giggle that leaked into her voice. "Please, forgive me but… you're face…" Giggles consumed her again and she claps a hand over her mouth to muffle them.

"His face?" Tenten and Lee chorused with matching confused faces before they looked over at Neji's carefully blank face. "His face looks normal to me…" Lee muses to himself, crossing his arms over his chest and nodding slowly as if he was right in his thoughts.

"Hai, hai, Lee-san." Kumo giggles, placing her free hand against her abdomen. "But… his face was so… so serious! D-don't worry, Hyuuga-san… I'll… I'll fight you if your leader… deems me not a threat."

Although her answer was chopped from her giggling she noticed how Neji's shoulders lowered ever so slightly; he got the answer he wanted, he was going to fight someone who beat the famous Uchiha. For a few moments they held each other's eyes, she looking into his white slates and he into her emerald orbs; the other three looked between each of them, unsure as to what was going on before the young woman smiles, her eyes closing slightly.

"Hyuuga-san, please go easy on me when we do fight." He scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest as he sneers down at her.

"Obviously I'll have to; no one can match the Hyuuga power." His answer caused her to smile more.

"Obviously."

...

A few hours later the group was found walking down the street with tired expressions; after their little dabble Gai had thrown his team into "over-drive training" and practically talked the young swordswoman's ear off as he explained all about the youthfulness of it all. She was unprepared but not surprised when Lee suddenly stops in front of her, whirls around, and starts to talk rapidly about the wonders of Taijutsu and how he very much wishes to fight her. Right in the middle of his eccentric display of youthful vigor he was pushed away from her face by a slightly irritated Hyuuga.

"Shut up." Neji snaps, his eyes narrowed in distaste at the boy who now laid collapsed out on the ground. "You're giving me a headache."

"Neji!" Tenten gasps with shock before helping her fallen comrade up and dusting off his jumpsuit.

"Where are you staying tonight?" Neji asks Kumo, ultimately ignoring his teammate in order to stare at the swordswoman with a contemplating look.

"Mm, where in deed." Her hand, which had previously been resting inside her kimono like normal, slips out and scratches her cheek as she looks up at the sky. "I have already intruded upon Tenten-san's home so…"

"You will stay at my home." Neji states, turning around and walking down the worn road.

"Maa?" Her eyes tear from the sky to the retreating back of the Hyuuga before she jogs after him, her getas making a 'clop-clop' sound in her rush. "Matte, Hyuuga-san! You cannot just decide this yourself! Do I not have a say in this matter?"

He scoffs before turning around, a single eyebrow rose in question. "You wish to spend your night in Lee's home and listen to his 'youthful' talking all night? He snores."

She pales slightly, only enough for the Hyuuga to see but that was all he needed to know that he won this so-called argument.

"Come, my uncle will wish to meet you before dinner." He starts to walk off again and, after a single glance back at the group that didn't bother following him, Kumo rushes off in order to not get lost.

"H-Hai, I'm coming!"

...

They enter the large compound quietly; neither of them felt the need to fill the silence with useless talking. Although she's been in several compounds she was still struck with wonder at how beautiful everything looked. Slipping her getas off when they entered she picks them up before following Neji down the quiet hallways. It felt surreal, to be in such a big place yet see not a soul.

"Hyuuga-san?" She tilts her head slightly, picking up her pace in order to peer up at his face. "Hyuuga-san, I do not see anyone here, are they all gone?"

He rose an eyebrow at her, his eyes asking her if she was stupid before shaking his head and continued on. She comes to a stop and huffs, her cheeks puffing out in her irritation before she runs to catch up with him.

"It was a simple question, Hyuuga-san." She grumbles, her eyes catching his lip twitch before his face went blank.

"It was a stupid question." He corrects before turning a corner and nearly crashing into someone.

"G-Gomen'nasai, Neji-nii-san!" The young indigo haired maiden gasps, her white-with-a-lavender-tent eyes growing wide when she catches sight of the swordswoman. "K-Kumo-san!"

"Moshimoshi, Hyuuga-san." Kumo smiles, offering the young woman a small wave.

"Hinata-Hime." Neji greets stiffly.

"Hyuuga-san is a princess?" The swordswoman asks innocently, tilting her head to the side as she watches Hinata turn a deep shade of red.

"N-no I'm not. Neji-nii-san I-I've already told you, you don't have to call me th-that, I am not the heiress anymore!"

"Hinata-Hime, is your father in?" Neji asks, completely ignoring the ex-heiress' quiet demand.

"H-hai." Her soft voice showed that she had, for now, given up the argument that seemed long lasting.

He nods before motioning Kumo to follow him; the swordswoman smiles at the quiet konoichi before following quickly after the stoic Hyuuga. When she finally caught up to him he was sitting on his knees next to a door and, slowly, she sinks down to her knees quietly. He knocked on the door, listening quietly when a voice from the other side gave entrance.

"Hiashi-sama," Neji greets in the most respectful tone Kumo has ever heard from him. "I wish to speak to you about my mission and to introduce you to her."

She bites her tongue in order to keep a snarky remark to herself; how dare he address her as a mission.

"Yes, Neji, come in and bring her in as well." An emotionally detached voice called out and Neji looks back at her with eyes that clearly said 'behave.' Both of them enter quietly, Neji sitting in front of his uncle and she behind him, off a little bit to the left.

Hiashi was wearing a dull brown kimono, a darker brown sash around his waist as he sat behind a low table, a paper sitting before him as if he was reading that slip before the asked for entrance. His was quietly staring at her with those pupil-less eyes, scrutinizing everything about her while she did the same with him. Both wore emotionless masks and Neji had it in his right mind to remain quiet.

"Well then," Hiashi finally spoke after a pregnant pause. "Why don't you introduce us, Neji?"

"Hai, Hiashi-sama." Neji bows in respect before speaking again. "This is Rurousha, Kyoui-kumo; Lady Tsunade as informed my team and I that we must watch over her until she has decided to help us."

"A nomad? What does a nomad have that we do not?" From his tone of voice Kumo was well aware that because of her last name he did not find her important and, if she was honest with herself, she was glad he didn't know the truth.

"Aya," She suddenly spoke, causing two pairs of guarded white eyes to zero in on her. "They wish for me to help them locate Uchiha-kun."

"That traitor?" He demands, his eyes hardening even more as he slams his open palm onto the table.

"Hai." She couldn't help but smile smugly, her emerald orbs half closing.

"Excuse me, Hiashi-sama," Neji clears his throat, discreetly shooting Kumo an irritated glare before offering his uncle a slight bow. "Why she is needed is not the matter of which I wish to discuss with you."

"Oh?" Hiashi straitens up and stares at Neji, waiting for him to speak.

"Hai, Hiashi-sama," Neji was king at stoic expressions. "Rurousha-san has been placed on 24 watch and tonight she is to stay here, is that acceptable?"

Kumo wanted to say that there was no need, she didn't see the point in staying at a place with such an irritating person but she kept her thoughts to herself instead staring straight ahead with the best blank face she could make. The silence wore on before Hiashi frowns slightly.

"And where do you wish to keep her, Neji?"

"If possible the guest room that is next to mine but if not I am willing to give up my bed to watch her." He answers stiffly.

"Very well then." She almost let out a sigh of relief before he opened his mouth again. "She can stay in your room."

* * *

**Ah, I think I enjoy causing drama... Gomen'nasai for not having Shikamaru in this chapter... even though its a story for him... but don't worry he's bound to be in it... in a chapter or two from now. I'm actually considering speeding up the Romance ... but I don't know, I'm still debating~**


	12. Chapter 12

**This is a really short chapter. Erm... Yesterday (today being 1/2/13) while my aunt and I were at the mall we got a call saying that my grandmother had a heart attack. She's okay now, she went into surgery and the doctor said 30% of her heart was (either) damaged or dead and that they were going to hold her in the ICU for 24 (possibly) 48 hours. Well... I wrote this while waiting for the news so (of course) it's going to be short but... yeah... Enjoy.**

**Disclaimers: I do not own Naruto. I only own my OC(s) that appear in this story.**

* * *

He was angry; she could tell by how his shoulders were stiff with tension and how dark energy seemed to ooze out of him. Jerking open a random door he stalks in and she follows in quietly, closing it behind her as she watches him stop off to the left of the room. The bedroom was averaged sized with benign painted walls and wooden floors. On the far wall was a window with blinds opened to let in the setting light and a queen sized bed set against it. In the middle of the room was a low-set squared table with four dark brown sitting pillows around it. To the left was a closed white door and to the left was a dark brown bookshelf that held numerous scrolls all in alphabetical order.

"I don't want to sound rude or anything…" She trails off when she noticed how the seething Hyuuga seemed to stiffen at the sound of her voice. "But your uncle is an ass…."

When he whirls around to glare at her with his white eyes she could do nothing but shrug unapologetically and off him a small smile. He sneers slowly and, she was sure, it wasn't directed at her. Spinning on the balls of his feet he opens the white door and stalks inside, closing it quietly behind him. She looks around her before walking deeper into the room and sitting down on the brown pillow that allowed her to face the white door that her host had disappeared through.

Twenty minutes after her Hyuuga friend barricaded himself behind the white door he comes out wearing a white, long sleeved shirt that had three undone buttons at his collar and benign slacks. He was drying his wet hair with a white towel before sitting down at the table across from her all the while keeping his eyes closed. His eyes open to narrow dangerously when there was a soft knocking on his door.

"Enter." His calm voice gave false hope to whoever was behind that door and when a young woman opened the door and peaked her head inside she paled considerably.

"Neji-san," Her voice quivered slightly. "Hiashi-sama has asked if our guest has any clothing fit for dinner."

"No she does not." He spoke without looking once in Kumo's direction.

"Excuse me, I'm wearing clothing right now." The swordswoman interrupts, causing two pairs of white eyes to focus on her. "I think I look fine enough-"

"Your clothing are worn and are unfit for dinner." Neji cuts her off. "Maya here will bring you a kimono fit for dinner as soon as she's able."

The young woman squeaks, bows quickly and closes the door behind her before she scampers off. There was silence between the two as Neji continues to dry his hair and as Kumo watches him with a thoughtful expression. Sighing she gets up before walking around the table and kneeing behind him.

"Here, let me help you." He looks at her from the corner of his eye and, after a long moment, finally surrenders the towel to her. She smiles gently before slowly drying his hair with care, making sure to get every spot.

"Your hair is lovely." She comments, running her fingers through his silk locks before another knock interrupts his returning comment.

"Come in." He calls out as the swordswoman turns a bit to face the door. The same woman as before enters caring a folded cloth of dark purples, burgundy, and gold. She bows before handing the bundle to the swordswoman.

"Dinner will be ready in an hour." She comments quietly before walking backwards and out of the room.

"Go take a shower and get dressed." Neji told her before standing up a nudging her towards the white door. She frowns, not liking him ordering her around but complies and slips through the white door, hearing it close behind her.

The floor had changed from wood to a brown and white granite tile, the walls an off white; on the far wall was the counter with its brown cabinets and its white counter tops. To the left was the toilet and the shower-tub a clear curtain protecting the floor from stray water. To the right the room turns from a bathroom to a closet; both walls had high bars for the hangers and below them were shelves and dressers for anything else.

"Nifty." She mumbles to herself before setting down the bundle of clothing on the counter and stripping. She sets her swords on one of the empty shelves and walks over to the shower before stopping. "Damn." Creeping over to the door she opens it and peaks her head out.

"Ano… Hyuuga-san?" He was sitting in her old spot, reading one of the many scrolls that he seemed to own; his eyebrow was raised in question. "Which knob is hot?"

"The one nearest the wall."

"Arigatō, Hyuuga-san." He grunts as welcome before she closes the door; it seems that he didn't realize she was naked and that, to her, was a very good thing. Turning on the hot water she waits for a few moments before slipping inside and scrubbing herself raw.

Forty minutes later she was putting the final touches on her outfit when a knock on the door pulled her attention from her hair to the door.

"Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes." Her Hyuuga friend told her before he moves away from the door. Licking her lips she looks back at the mirror and her lips pull into a small frown.

"Hyuuga-san?" She calls out, only sparing a glance at the closed white door before looking back at her hair. There was a pause before she heard his voice by the door again.

"Hai?"

"I have a favor to ask you." There was a longer pause.

"…Hai?"

"Since you have long hair perhaps you can help me? The door is unlocked by the way."

When he opens the door she saw him take a silent intake of breath; honestly she didn't know what was so spectacular about her to cause such a reaction but then again he's only ever seen her in one set of clothing. At the moment she was wearing a dark purple kimono with pale white vertical lines and small white flowers adoring it. A burgundy obi tied around her waist with small dark blue flowers in its design, a piece of gold cloth peeking out from under it with a matching gold wire around it to keep it tied. He continued to stare at her, causing her to tug at a lock of hair before biting the right corner of her bottom lip.

"Hyuuga-san?" She questions quietly before he blinks and takes a slow step forward. Taking a lock of her hair he frowns slightly.

"It's still wet."

"Hai, I don't know what to do with it yet so I was planning on just keeping it the way it was."

"Hmm…" For a moment he was quiet before shrugging as if it wasn't his problem.

"We have ten minutes before dinner, your hair looks better down with this kimono so why don't you just leave it be and follow me." Nodding she follows him out of the bathroom before stopping at the door. "What is it?"

"Gomen'nasai, one moment." She slips back into the bathroom before grabbing her white sword and slipping it carefully into her kimono on her right side. Glancing in the mirror she noticed how her sword drew attention to itself because of how bright it was compared to her attire. Slipping out of the bathroom again she looks up to see a frown marring her companion's otherwise emotionless face.

"No."

"Nani? Demo-"

"No."

"I am not going anywhere without my sword." She frowns, crossing her arms over her obi.

"You are not going to dinner with a sword." He counters.

"And, portray, why not, Hyuuga-san?"

"This is a family dinner; I will not allow you within twenty feet of my little cousins with that sword."

"This is an heirloom I will not go anywhere without it."

"Doesn't matter. You're not taking it, end of discussion."

"Hyuuga-san-"

"End. Of. Discussion."

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**Yes... a very short chapter but... I just... Eh... **


	13. Chapter 13

**I would like to thank all of you who keep reading this story despite the fact that I take a freakishly long time to post new chapters... For that I am sorry.**

**I would like to announce two things. **

**First: My grandmother has gotten out of the ICU today (Technically yesterday on 1/4/13) and she is doing fine. The doctor said since we had a very nice reaction time they were able to get her into surgery and, although there was a problem after words, they were able to fix it and she spent three days in the ICU recuperating. **

**Secondly: I got two reviewers who were... amazed (or probably weirded out) about how I was able to write a chapter (despite it being so short) while waiting for new on my grandmother. I would like to say that... I strive under stress and most of my best ideas come when I'm unable to sleep at... 4 in the morning.**

**Anyways I got the new chapter up (only like 4 days after the last one, I think that's a record for me) so enjoy.**

**Disclaimers: I do not own Naruto. Only my OC(s) that appear in the story.**

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"Jerk." She mumbles as both her and her irritating Hyuuga companion sit down at the dinner table; five minutes late. When she had walked in behind the irritating Neji, sword less, she noticed that the table had only been set for five people and three of the people, including a fidgeting Hinata, were already sitting and waiting.

Currently she and Neji were sitting to the left of the head, he sitting closer to Hiashi than she; sitting in front of her was a young girl with straight brown hair and the same piercing white eyes that everyone in the family seemed to have, next to her and to the right of her father was Hinata.

"Well, it seems that the kimono fits you quite well, Rurousha-san." Hiashi said calmly, not even looking up from the soup that sat before him. Her eyes hardened slightly but she still smiled like any proper guest should.

"Thank you, Hyuuga-sama; I am honored to wear such a beautiful thing such as this. Thank you for loaning it." Her voice, airy and relaxed hid the inner annoyance that was directed at the male.

"So why are you here?" The young girl asks boldly, tilting her head slightly to the right.

"Hanabi!" Hiashi snaps, he was probably horrified that his own blood spoke out of line. She ducks her head in embarrassment but the swordswoman knew that the girl wasn't really embarrassed that she asked; just that she was caught asking.

"No," Kumo smiles gently at Hiashi who just returned her smile with a glare. "It's okay that she asked; I don't mind telling."

Hanabi seemed to perk up and, despite her best efforts, Hinata seemed to focus more on the conversation as well. Hiashi's eyes narrow slightly, wondering how much she would say, and Neji, too, seemed to turn slightly so he could give her a probing stare. She shoots both males a sweet smile before leaning forward slightly, absently pushing some of her hair behind her ear so that the males could see her face.

"You see," Her sweet smile seemed to turn devilish. "Neji recently asked my hand in marriage and your father gave his consent; he seems to like me very much despite his indifferent attitude. I'll only be staying for the night but perhaps in the morning you and your sister can take me shopping as a congratulation present?"

There was sputtering from three of the four Hyuugas and she bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from smiling even though she wanted to giggle. Hiashi was coughing in outrage, Neji had dropped his spoon back into his soup bowl and Hinata was choking on her soup, her face lit like the fourth of July. Hanabi sat there in stunned silence, her white eyes wide and her mouth opened in a small 'o', then, suddenly, she blinks several times.

"I don't believe it! Who would ever marry such a boring guy?" Kumo actually giggles this time, seeing out of the corner of her eye that Neji was blushing with either anger or embarrassment.

"Hanabi-san, I don't know why you're so hard on Hyuuga-san; he's very nice and sweet when he thinks no one is watching." She shoots Neji a wink, an amused smile ever present on her lips as she leans back away from the table as she watches him glare at her.

Before anyone else could talk several maids come in and take away the soup bowls, soon enough the main course was in front of them and the maids were gone again. Kumo makes a small sound in the back of her throat before taking a bite out of the Hayashi Raisu. It was several moments before anyone else started to eat and, doing so discreetly, she hid a smile behind her spoon.

"This is wonderful, Hiashi-sama," She broke the silence before she felt a certain Hyuuga kick her with the back of his heel.

"Hn." Hiashi didn't even try to keep up appearances and respond with a proper answer; she would say that was one point for her. Deciding to play her part perfectly she places her hand on Neji's thigh, a small smile forming on her lips when she felt him stiffen.

"I'm happy you brought me here, Hyuuga-san." She whispered as she leaned into his personal bubble. She saw his check twitch from under her lashes and her small smile grew. "Perhaps I can …. Thank you tonight when we retire to bed."

Despite his best efforts the swordswoman saw Neji's cheeks flare up in either offense or embarrassment before he coughs into his hand, discretely pushing her away with his arm as it rose up. Hiashi looked livid but, to Kumo's amazement, he kept it held in when the maids came back in to take away the empty bowls and returned with Ichigo Daifuku (2). Hanabi kept smiling as if she found all of this amusing and Hinata was blushing deeply with the implications of her dear cousin getting married to a girl and having sexual intercourse before the wedding itself. Taking a small bite from the Daifuku her eyes suddenly brighten and she seemed to sit up straighter, her fingers coming up to place the pads against her bottom lip in awe.

"This Ichigo Daifuku is absolutely amazing!" She purrs, if she was a cat her ears would be perked and slightly twitching with excitement. "Who made it? I want to give my compliments to the chief!"

Hinata was doing a wonderful impersonation of a tomato as her younger sister's small smile turned into a bright and sly grin. Raising her eyebrow the swordswoman takes another bite of her Daifuku, licking the backside of the spoon as she peaks at Neji from the corner of her eyes; she got rewarded with another cheek flush.

"Hinata-Ane(3) made it, isn't it good?" Hanabi gloats, stuffing a large spoonful into her mouth before making an indecent moan resulting in her getting the evil eye from her father who seemed to be very close to blowing a blood vessel.

"It's absolutely," She pauses a moment to savor the taste before a sly grin forms on her lips. "Orgasmic."

...

The rest of dinner was spent in absolute silence before Hiashi gave the signal and everyone seemed to scatter like frantic mice. She could tell that her Hyuuga companion was furious but she also knew he wouldn't blow up until they were in the comfort of his room and she was absolutely drumming with excitement to see what he would look like when he wasn't in such tight control. Both of them were shocked when, after Neji opened his bedroom door, a maid came out of nowhere, latched onto her arm, and dragged her away.

"Gomen'nasai, Rurousha-san, but Hiashi-sama has requested that you spend the remainder of the night in a guest room; this way, please."

"Demo, my swords!" She gasps with fake distress as she looks over her shoulder to a stunned Neji; she was trying very hard to keep her smug smile off of her lips before she was almost roughly shoved into her new room.

"Gomen'nasai." The maid mutters again before the door was shut behind her.

Making a small sound in the back of her throat Kumo looks around her new room with her arms crossed behind her back. It wasn't as nice as Neji's room; it had a simple twin bed with nice peach sheets, the walls were that horrible mint green that crappy hotels paint their rooms to try and make their guests happier and the floors were wooden like the rest of the house. There were two nightstands, on one either side of the bed, and a small sitting couch in the corner of the room off to the right of the door; another door, presumably to the closet, was on the left right next to the door that led out.

Walking farther into the room she stops at the foot of the bed, placing her delicate hands on the soft comforter before there was a soft knocking on the door. Going over she opens the door to reveal a stoic yet still somehow irritated Neji Hyuuga; smiling she opens the door wider and he walks inside with, to her happiness, her swords.

"Ah, Hyuuga-san!" She greets brightly, closing the door behind her and leaning against it as she watches him set down her precious objects on top of her bed. "And what do I owe the honor of you gracing me with your presence in my room?"

His eyes said it all, he was angry and he was about to give her a piece of his mind.

"You're welcome, by the way." She interrupts him when he opens his mouth to talk. Frowning he crosses his arms over his chest and waits for her to clarify.

"We have our own rooms now… You're welcome." She couldn't hold it in any longer and a smug grin plastered itself over her face, her green eyes twinkling with enjoyment. His brows form into a V as he looks down, it was obvious that he was thinking and she leaned against the door more for comfort.

"So all of that was to… get your own room?" He asked, the anger dying a little in his eyes.

"No, not all of it, some of it was to fuck with your uncle." She scrunches up her nose and closes her right eye before shrugging. "Like I said, he's an ass; I don't like him."

He shakes his head, rubbing his temple with two of his right fingers before sitting at the foot of the bed and giving her a hard stare.

"You know, I wanted you in my room so I could keep watch over you." He admits quietly.

"Oh, hush." She waves her left hand at him before pushing hair behind her ear. "There are like, a hundred Hyuugas in this compound. Even if I wanted to try and escape I'm sure I'll be found out as soon as I walk past the bathroom."

His eyebrow rose and she gives him an 'are you kidding me' look.

"Really? I'm not a ninja but I'm not stupid. I know that the Hyuuga Clan has the 'all-seeing' eyes; I have no doubt that at any random moment someone will activate their blood limit and, if I so try, will see me trying to sneak out." He seemed clearly impressed with her thorough thinking but was either unable or unwilling to give her props; she didn't mind though, she kind of figured he was the type to not be impressed easily.

"So you will not try to escape tonight?" He asks for clarification.  
"Of course not; first off, the all-seeing eyes. Second, after what I put you through during dinner you need a night of no worries. And, third, if I wanted to escape from this stupid 'village arrest' I would have done so last night when I was at your teammates house and she was blissfully asleep in her bed." Rolling her eyes she blows a loose lock of hair out of her eyes before reaching up and tucking it behind her ear. She watched as his eyes turned slightly suspicious, then annoyance, and finally reluctant acceptance.

"Very well then," Standing up he walks over to the door, causing Kumo to move away from it and watched with slightly tired yet still very aware eyes. Opening the door he slips out until she could only see his face. "Goodnight, Kumo."

That was the first time he's ever called her by name and, despite her better knowing, she couldn't help but smile gently.

"Goodnight, Neji."

* * *

**1. Hayashi rice is Japanese style hashed beef stew, thinly sliced beef and onions in a demi-glace sauce served over or along side cooked rice. It resembles kare raisu, and, like kare raisu, is also eaten with a spoon. (Information found on )**

**2. These are daifuku cakes with strawberry and anko fillings. (I shall give the ingredience and the directions to make it now :O) **

**Ingredients:**

**1 cup shiratama-ko (glutinous rice flour)**

**1/4 cup sugar**

**2/3 cup water**

**For filling**

**1/3 cup water & 1/2 cup sugar & 1/4 cup dried anko powder, or 1/2 cup premade anko (sweet red bean paste)**

**6 strawberries**

**katakuriko potato starch or corn starch for dusting.**

**Preparation:**

**Heat 1/3 cup of water and 1/2 cup of sugar in a pan. Add 1/4 cup of anko powder in the pan and stir well. Set aside. Wash strawberries and remove the calyxes. Wrap a strawberry with about a spoonful of anko and rounds to make a ball. Make 6 balls. Put shiratamako in a heat-resistant bowl. Mix 2/3 cup of water and 1/4 cup of sugar in a small bowl. Pour into shiratamako, stirring well. Put the bowl in microwave and heat the dough for about two minutes. Stir the dough. Heat the dough in microwave until the dough inflates. Stir the mochi quickly. Dust a flat pan with some katakuri-ko starch. Also, dust hands with some katakuri-ko. Remove the hot mochi from the bowl to the pan by hands. The mochi is hot and sticky, so be careful not to burn your hands. Dust hands with more katakuri-ko starch and divide the mochi into 6 pieces by hands. Make 6 flat and round mochi. Put a piece of strawberry and anko filling on a mochi piece and wrap it by stretching mochi. Rounds the daifuku. Repeat the process to make more pieces. (Information found on .com)**

**3. Ane- According to Google Translate it means "big sister"**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello, fellow readers! I would like to say now that I love all of you for bearing with me while I was in the grips of a Writer's Block. You, my adored reader, are the absolute best!**

**I would also like to thank one of my best friends, Kaa-chan, for pretty much bearing with me as I talked about this story and poking me until I got inspiration to write this new chapter.**

**Disclaimers: I do not, nor ever will, own Naruto or anything created by Masashi Kishimoto. I do, however, own all of my OC(s) that may appear in this story.**

**Please enjoy this chapter that you've been waiting so long to read!**

* * *

"_You did it wrong! Do it again!" The sharp sting of sensei's fist against her cheek caused the young girl's head to snap down and betraying tears to coat her green eyes. "You're pathetic; warriors don't cry!"_

_The young girl's seven year old body struggled to get off the ground and slowly she was able to stand, her knees wobbling and her chest heaving with the need for breath. Her arms rose, one hand clinging to a shaking kunai and the other pulled into a fist, and with a small shout she rushed at her abuser. What she was supposed to do was duck under his arm when he countered and swipe at his jugular. There were only two problems with that. _

_One. Her sensei was very tall and, no matter how high she reached or how well she jumped up, her arm would only reach up to his chest._

_Two. Even if she was able to swipe at his neck properly when he reached for her and when she ducked under him she was taken by surprise when his elbow came out of nowhere and connected with the back of her neck._

_She let out a gurgled cry of pain as her face met the dirt again and, instead of getting back up like a good warrior, her body curls into itself and her hands grip the back of her head. The young girl felt tears run down her face as the pain overwhelmed her; choked sobbed tore at her throat and her whole body quivered with pain. _

_Even in my eyes I wondered what she had done to deserve such brutal pain._

_I watched as fingers slide into her short black hair and suddenly her head was yanked up and she was staring into the face of evil; a face of which I could not see. Her sensei sneers down at her before his fist met her face again; and again and again. _

_Both, she and I, cried out in pain, hoping that someone would come to the girl's rescue._

_No one did, of course._

"_You're a disgrace." He stood up, spitting in my general direction before turning his back on the girl and walking away. "You are not fit to bear the title -"_

_I black out before he could finish the rest._

...

"_She failed again?" The horrid woman screams at the man before her._

"_Yes, M'Lady." Sensei said, sneering down at the cowering form of a seven year old hiding in the corner of the office. The girl, clad in dirt, was clinging to a worn looking rabbit; she had tears in her eyes but it was obvious to me that she was trying very hard not to cry._

"_How many times does this make it?" The woman growls, pacing the room with irritation. She was wearing one of the most beautiful red dress that the seven year old has ever seen; the woman, herself, in the eyes of the seven year old whereas in my eyes her face remained hidden in shadows._

"_Five this week." The sensei said again, turning to look at the pacing form of the woman; the look in his eyes obviously said that he'd much rather talk about her then the quivering whelp he was ordered to look after._

"_Y- !" Turning around the woman stalks towards the girl before yanking her bunny out of her arms. I felt my heart constrict just like the girl could. "You horrid little monster!"_

_Both the girl and I watched as the woman threw the bunny into the fire place, watching as the fires licked hungrily at the worn fabric._

"_S-Sammy!" The girl cried, scrambling to her feet and, on unstable legs, ran to the fireplace; it was obvious that she would reach into the fires just to save her only friend but she was suddenly yanked away, pulled away from her friend by her hair. "Sammy!"_

"_Sammy! Sammy!" The woman mimicked, pulling harder on the girl's hair before tossing her in the direction of the sensei. "Because you are unable to grasp even the simplest of fighting techniques your little 'Sammy' will pay the price!" I watched as the girl starts to cry, fat tears running down her dirt stained cheeks before the whole world turns dark and everything disappears. _

_..._

_The world clears and I find myself sitting on a small cot in a dingy room; the girl was lying face down, her tears still coming even after the fire had died and nothing but ash was left of her beloved 'Sammy'. I reached out to pat her head but before I could touch her the door opens and standing there, against the light, was none other than the woman who had stolen the girl's only friend._

"_Are you still crying over that horrid rag doll?" She asked, her sneer obvious in her voice. The girl could do nothing but whimper, trying to hold back the tears that the woman was accusing her of. I couldn't help but sneer back at the woman; she always was the demon disguised in red dresses. The woman makes a disgusted sound in the back of her throat before stepping into the room and walking over to the girl._

"_Get up." She demands, placing her perfectly manicured hands on her hips. When the girl didn't respond I watched as the woman reaches out and dig her manicured fingers into the girl's tangled hair before yanking her out of bed; I stood up quickly as I watch the girl fall onto the floor painfully. "Get out. You're going to have a training session with your sensei. If you can complete it you'll be able to have dinner."_

_Unable to help myself I threw a punch at the woman, completely shocked when my fist slide through her head and I toppled onto the ground soundlessly. What… the hell? I'm… invisible? I look up; the woman seemed unfazed as she looked down at the girl who struggled to stand up._

_Wait… The closer I look at the girl the more she reminds me of someone. Who was she? Why does she make me feel like I know exactly how she feels? Like I lived it all before?_

...

Something woke her up; it wasn't a touch but it wasn't a sound either. Opening her eyes slowly she stared at the mint green walls, unable to really focus on them before moving her eyes down to the swords that laid next to her. She remembered now; minutes after Neji had left the maid that took her away from his room had come back with pajamas. They were different from the set that Tenten had let her borrow; it was more of a champagne colored silk dress like pajama instead of the soft cotton two set. After she had changed and laid down to bed she had quickly fallen to sleep; but, now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember what she dreamed about. Slowly she sits up, tugging at the dress out from under her as she looked around the room again; it was still as ugly as it was last night.

Someone knocked on the door and her hand automatically grabbed onto Nee. A heartbeat passed, and then another before the knocking sounded again and she visibly relaxed; it wasn't an enemy. Releasing her hold on Nee she slips out of bed before moving to the door; its best to answer the door now then have whoever was knocking walk in. When she opened the door she was met with the face that she was slowly becoming use too.

"Neji." She greets, opening the door wide enough for him to slip through.

"Good morning." He greets, closing the door behind him as she walked over to the bed. "I hope you slept well?"

"I believe I did." She smiles at him, leaning against the bedframe as she watched him.

"Here." He hands her a bundle of clothing that she hadn't noticed before. Blinking slowly she reaches out and takes ahold of it, hugging it to her chest. "My uncle has told me that he took the liberty of throwing out that…" He clears his throat and looks away slightly, "dreadful thing you called clothing."

"He… threw away my clothes?" If she hadn't hated him before now she did. "That's just… Rude!"

Neji's face was carefully blank, hiding what he was truly feeling about the situation as he watched the young swordswoman grip the bundle that he had handed her like she was going to throw it across the room at any given time.

"Get dressed," He finally said, turning and reaching for the door. "I'll be waiting outside, breakfast is in twenty minutes."

He left her fuming in the middle of the room, closing the door quietly behind him; it wasn't obvious but he must have been happy to get away from an angry woman with easy access to swords. After a few moments she sighs, sitting down at the foot of her bed before looking down at the bundle of clothing that was handed to her.

"At least he gave me clothing in return…" She mused, standing up and setting down the bundle on her bed before changing.

She didn't have a mirror to see what she looked like before exiting her room so when she actually did come out she had to go on the reaction Neji gave, which, if you knew him, wasn't that well at all. The first time he had seen her in something other than her old kimono he had given an obvious gasp but, it seems that that was a once in a life time thing. Now, as she exited, he only spared her a glance, probably looking her over to make sure she didn't have her beloved swords, before walking down the hall towards the breakfast room.

Steeling her nerves she jogged after her Hyuuga companion, picking up one end of her peace and pink kimono to keep her from tripping; she was mentally preparing herself for another meal with the devil himself.

* * *

**So...right... it took me a LONG TIME to write this... no. actually it took me a LONG TIME to get inspiration... it only took me two days to write this...**

**Again, i'm SORRY it took me soooo looonnnnggg to write this... I don't think it'll take me that long to write the next chapter...**

**Again. sorry =3=**


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